"Lando Norris has won his first Formula One world championship with a gutsy, nerveless drive of no little bravery to seal it with third place at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A podium was enough for the 26-year-old British driver despite Red Bull's Max Verstappen winning and his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri taking second. Norris did exactly what was required of him in an enormously intense and high-pressure contest at the Yas Marina Circuit, including making a series of bold overtakes, with a flawless execution by himself and by his McLaren team."
"In taking his first world championship he becomes the 11th British driver to do so and it brings to an end McLaren's drivers' championship drought, which stretched back to 2008, when Lewis Hamilton last won it for the team. It had been 27 years since McLaren last secured the drivers' and constructors' double in 1998, with Mika Hakkinen. It marks a remarkable turnaround for the team, since a nadir in the mid-2010s when they twice finished ninth in the constructors' championship. The revival has been helmed by Zak Brown, the chief executive, who joined in 2016, and most recently by Andrea Stella, who as team principal has delivered an operationally sharp outfit with a hugely competitive car."
"For the Australian Piastri, who had looked so strong in the championship leading from the fifth round in Saudi Arabia to the 20th, in Mexico, there was clear disappointment that he had faltered in the final third to be surpassed by his teammate but he gave his all in Abu Dhabi. A series of poor performances and some errors, including crashing out in Baku, proved costly but he emerges having demonstrated he too is world champion material. To have been so competitive in only his third season in F1, taking seven wins, was still very impressive and he will feel his time is still yet to come."
Lando Norris won his first Formula One world championship by finishing third at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after a gutsy, nerveless drive and a series of bold overtakes. Max Verstappen won the race and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri finished second. Norris becomes the 11th British world champion and ends McLaren's drivers' championship drought since 2008, marking a turnaround for the team that last achieved the drivers' and constructors' double in 1998. The team's revival followed a mid-2010s nadir and has been helmed by chief executive Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella. Piastri showed pace with seven wins but faltered late in the season.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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