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
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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
Tennis world number ones Sabalenka, Alcaraz begin Australian Open campaigns
- Carlos Alcaraz, who could complete a career Grand Slam if he wins the tournament, faces Adam Walton
- Aryna Sabalenka takes on Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah as she seeks a third title at Melbourne Park
MELBOURNE: The first round of the Australian Open begins in Melbourne on Sunday.
World number one Carlos Alcaraz, who could complete a career Grand Slam if he wins the tournament, faces Adam Walton, while Aryna Sabalenka takes on Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah as she seeks a third title at Melbourne Park.
Top men’s match: Alcaraz v Walton
At 22, Alcaraz could replace Don Budge as the youngest man to achieve the career Grand Slam with victory at the Australian Open. The Spaniard has left no one in any doubt what his main goal is for the 2026 season, saying in November he would rather win a first Melbourne Park crown than retain his French and US Open titles.
His quest to make history will begin with a first-round tie against Australian Walton.
The pair have crossed paths once before, with Alcaraz beating the Australian 6-4 7-6(4) during his title-winning run at the Queen’s Club Championships last year.
Top women’s match: Sabalenka v Rakotomanga Rajaonah
Sabalenka will be bidding to continue her incredible record in hard court Grand Slam tournaments when she begins her campaign against Frenchwoman Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
The Belarusian world number one has reached the final of the last six majors she has played on the surface, winning four of those.
She enters the competition in fine form after retaining her Brisbane International title this month without losing a set, and should have little trouble when she takes on the 118th-ranked Rakotomanga Rajaonah.
Venus Williams is back
Venus Williams, a two-times Australian Open singles finalist, returns to the tournament for the first time since 2021 after receiving a wildcard.
The 45-year-old faces Olga Danilovic in the first round, where she is set to become the oldest woman to feature in the Australian Open main draw by surpassing Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she bowed out in the first round in 2015.
Williams has endured a poor start to the season, losing to Magda Linette in the first round in Auckland and to Tatjana Maria in her opening match at the Hobart International.
Despite her defeats, she said she was happy with her level.
“I can’t expect perfection right now, but I know I’m playing good tennis. Winning and losing doesn’t know any age. Once you walk on court, you’re there to compete,” Williams said before her defeat in Hobart.
Australian Open order of play on Sunday
Here is the order of play on the main showcourts on the first day of the Australian Open (prefix number denotes seeding):
Rod Laver Arena
- Day session
Aliaksandra Sasnovich (Belarus) v 7-Jasmine Paolini (Italy)
3-Alexander Zverev (Germany) v Gabriel Diallo (Canada)
- Night session
1-Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) v Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah (France)
1-Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) v Adam Walton (Australia)
Margaret Court Arena
- Day session
Maria Sakkari (Greece) v Leolia Jeanjean (France)
18-Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina) v Zhang Zhizhen (China)
- Night session
10-Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan) v Jenson Brooksby (US)
Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Thailand) v 28-Emma Raducanu (Britain)
John Cain Arena
- Day session
Arthur Fery (Britain) v 20-Flavio Cobolli (Italy)
- Day session
12-Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) v Cristina Bucsa (Spain)
- Night session
29-Frances Tiafoe (US) v Jason Kubler (Australia)
Olga Danilovic (Serbia) v Venus Williams (US)
