ABU DHABI: McLaren’s 26-year wait for a Formula 1 constructors’ title could soon be over. Lewis Hamilton’s time with Mercedes is set to end on a low.
Lando Norris took pole position for the last Formula 1 race of the season Saturday alongside teammate Oscar Piastri to put McLaren on the verge of winning the lucrative prize for teams for the first time since 1998.
While Norris couldn’t stop Max Verstappen retaining the drivers’ title, he said winning the constructors’ championship with McLaren means a lot.
“It was hard just to break that barrier of getting close to Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull, because for such a long period of time they’ve been the guys who have dominated Formula 1,” he said.
Norris has been with McLaren since his F1 debut in 2019 and didn’t win a race until this year. He said Saturday that he’d had offers over that time from teams that could have given him a shot at winning races earlier, but he wanted to stay and turn around McLaren, one of F1’s most storied teams.
“I had those opportunities, but I believed and I wanted to simply do it with McLaren. I wanted to do it with the guys who gave me my opportunity in Formula 1,” he said.
Norris’ last lap made him .209 of a second faster than Piastri, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. .020 further back. Nico Hulkenberg was a surprise fourth for Haas — but later got a three-place grid penalty for overtaking in the pit exit tunnel — and champion Max Verstappen fifth.
Sainz’s teammate Charles Leclerc was 14th in the second part of qualifying and already has a 10-place grid penalty, likely ending Ferrari’s hopes of overhauling McLaren’s 21-point lead in the constructors’ standings.
It was always a “mission impossible” for Ferrari to win the title even before Leclerc hit problems, Sainz said, “but until the checkered flag comes down tomorrow, anything can happen and I’m going to keep fighting for whatever comes.”
The constructors’ title comes with a big financial reward for teams. The prize money varies but is typically worth around $140 million.
Hamilton’s misfortune
Seven-time F1 champion Hamilton is set to start his last race with Mercedes from 18th on the grid after a bizarre incident wrecked his final qualifying lap.
A plastic pole marking the inside of a corner was knocked loose by Kevin Magnussen’s Haas and Hamilton drove over it, leaving the object jammed under his Mercedes.
Hamilton was already among the slowest in the first part of qualifying and he was eliminated shortly after.
“I messed that up big time, guys,” Hamilton told the team over the radio.
Hamilton is moving to Ferrari for 2025 after 12 years with Mercedes, where he won six drivers’ titles.
His 246th and last race with Mercedes comes in a season in which Hamilton has won twice — including an emotional victory at his home British Grand Prix — but also been frustrated by a run of poor results. Hamilton has been largely outclassed by his teammate George Russell in recent races and struggled with penalties and a puncture last week in Qatar.
The newest driver on the grid in Abu Dhabi, Alpine’s Jack Doohan, qualified last on debut after replacing Esteban Ocon ahead of a full season with Alpine next year.
Norris takes pole for season-ending Abu Dhabi GP and Hamilton 18th in Mercedes farewell
https://arab.news/nc2nz
Norris takes pole for season-ending Abu Dhabi GP and Hamilton 18th in Mercedes farewell
- While Norris couldn’t stop Max Verstappen retaining the drivers’ title, he said winning the constructors’ championship with McLaren means a lot
- Norris has been with McLaren since his F1 debut in 2019 and didn’t win a race until this year
Forever Young features among strong field for Saudi Cup 2026
- Title-holder on course to clash with top-level winners from US and Japan in world’s most valuable race
RIYADH: Defending champion Forever Young heads a stellar list of names put forward for this year’s Group 1 $20 million Saudi Cup, which will take place at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026.
The two-day meeting, which begins on Feb. 13, has attracted 57 individual thoroughbred Group or Grade 1 winners in its entirety and 14 Purebred Arabian Group 1 winners. The nominations, spread among 22 different countries, will be competing for total prize-money of almost $40 million.
Prince Bandar bin Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, said: “This is only the seventh time we have staged the Saudi Cup meeting and it has already delivered countless memorable races and performances.
“With the nominations we have received for this year, we can be sure that the spectacular racing will continue. It is wonderful to see such a collection of both familiar and new names from all around the world due to be involved at King Abdulaziz Racecourse next month.”
Officially rated the joint-top dirt horse in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, Forever Young (JPN) has been successful on both his two previous visits to Saudi Arabia, winning the 2024 Saudi Derby before his gallant performance in the world’s most valuable race last year.
Yoshito Yahagi’s superstar, last seen winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic, could face a major challenge over the 1,800m from the US.
Former Classic champion White Abarrio (US) and Preakness Stakes victor Journalism (US) have been entered along with rising stars Nysos (US), the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile hero, and Magnitude (US), who beat a smart field in the Grade 2 Clark Stakes last time.
Further strength in depth from Japan could be added by W Heart Bond, the mare who won the recent Champions Cup, as well as Diktaean and Mikki Fight. They were first and second in the Tokyo Daishoten, the race used previously as a launchpad by Forever Young.
Sayyah (US), impressive in the recent Crown Prince Cup, and Star of Wonder (US), who claimed the King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Cup in late December, are among a number of promising Saudi Arabian-trained horses looking to secure a spot in the signature race.
This year’s Neom Turf Cup, sponsored by Howden, has been upgraded to Group 1 status, making it the first top-level turf race staged in the jurisdiction, and the purse has been increased to $3 million.
Charlie Appleby and Godolphin’s Rebel's Romance (IRE), the winner of nine top-level races around the world and a former Breeders’ Cup title-holder, is set to extend that extraordinary record in the 2,100m showdown. The likes of Bahrain International Trophy scorer Royal Champion (IRE) and Aidan O’Brien’s multiple Group 1-placed The Lion In Winter (IRE) could be up against him.
The Group 2 $2.5 million Red Sea Turf Handicap, sponsored by Longines, draws the cream of international stayers. Both Japan’s Durezza (JPN) and Joseph O’Brien’s Irish star Al-Riffa (FR) have been given entries for this race and the Neom Turf, while last year’s fourth Presage Nocturne (IRE) has improved again for Alessandro Botti.
This year’s Group 2 $2 million 1351 Turf Sprint, sponsored by SHG, could be an absolute cracker with entries headed by Jose d’Angelo’s Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint sensation Shisospicy (US) and Europe’s leading sprinter and Royal Ascot winner Lazzat (FR).
Similarly, the Group 2 $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint has drawn the cream of the international speedsters, including Book’em Danno and Shisospicy’s Breeders’ Cup-winning stablemate Bentornato, from the US, and two incredible talents from the UAE in Bhupat Seemar’s prolific Tuz (US) and last year’s Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Dark Saffron (US) for Ahmad bin Harmash.
Khamal (CHI), stylish winner of the Group 1 Premio Derby Nacional in Peru in late November, is among the jet-setting entries in the Group 3 $1.5 million Saudi Derby, sponsored by Zood Realty.
The card on Friday, Feb. 13 includes the International Jockey Challenge while the $500,000 Saudi International Handicap, sponsored by Lucid, has attracted potential runners trained as far afield as Bahrain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Norway, Oman, Qatar and Spain.
There are two Group 1 races for Purebred Arabians across the weekend. The main turf event, the $1.5 million Al-Mneefah Cup, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, was taken in brave fashion in 2025 by RB Kingmaker (US) and Helal Alalawi’s grey is set for a return visit.
The $2 million Obaiyah Arabian Classic, the principal event on dirt, was won spectacularly last year by the decorated Tilal Al-Khalediah (KS), who could feature again in a strong field from around the Gulf region.
Alalawi has entered not only RB Kingmaker but HM Alchahine (FR), who was a commanding winner over his third-placed stablemate in the Group 1 HH The President Cup in Abu Dhabi last time.
“We are delighted and honored that so many people have chosen to aim their horses for the 2026 Saudi Cup races and, on behalf of everyone at the JCSA, I would like to extend our gratitude to those owners and trainers,” Prince Bandar said.
“Year-on-year, thanks to the vision of our leadership, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his royal highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the crown prince and prime minister — may God protect them — the Saudi Cup has evolved into The Kingdom’s key sporting and social event.
“It has been especially pleasing to see the races recognised by the international authorities, too. The Saudi Cup has held Group 1 status since 2022 but we will now be staging our first ever Group 1 race on grass, the Neom Turf Cup, after its consistent level of performance.
“The Saudi Cup meeting is not only about world-class racing; it is a celebration of the horse as well as the culture and the hospitality of the Kingdom. The list of nominations only increases the excitement and we look forward to welcoming connections and racing fans alike next month for an event that has quickly made a huge impact on the global calendar.”
