British driver Lando Norris confirmed his efforts to help the McLaren team win the World Manufacturers’ Championship title, after achieving the first starting position for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, which is being held today at the Yas Marina Circuit, which is the final round of the Formula 1 World Championship. Yesterday, after Norris succeeded in recording the fastest lap in the qualifying trials for the race.
Norris recorded the fastest time of 1 minute, 22 seconds and 595 milliseconds, 209 milliseconds ahead of his Australian teammate Oscar Piastri, who merely recorded the second fastest time, while Spanish Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz came 229 milliseconds behind the leader. Norris.
The three qualifying sessions reflected the determination enjoyed by the McLaren drivers, the British Norris and the Australian Piastri, in clinching the constructors’ championship title in the final round, especially since the British team had a 21-point lead over its competitor, Ferrari.
The qualifying trials carried heavy surprises, after the world champion of the current season and the holder of the title of the past four editions of the Yas Marina Circuit, the Dutchman Max Verstappen, riding his Red Bull car, was satisfied with fifth place, 350 hundredths of a second behind Norris (the leader).
Heptathlon world champion Lewis Hamilton, winner of the Yas Marina Circuit on five occasions, also disappointed his large fans at Yas Marina, after he was satisfied in his last appearance with the Mercedes team in 18th place, after circling the circuit in a time of 1 minute, 23 seconds and 887 seconds. A fraction of a second.
Norris expressed his happiness with recording the fastest time, and said in press statements: “Things did not go as desired during the first periods of qualifying trials, in which I suffered from a lack of grip, before the team succeeded in making the required adjustments to the control parameters, and giving the car higher grip, which we succeeded in translating.” In the correct manner, especially in the third and decisive period.
He added: “I must translate this momentum into helping my team win the World Manufacturers’ Championship title, especially since I and my colleague Piastri will start from first and second place as we seek to achieve a double victory in the final race of the season.”
Starting grid penalties affect Leclerc
Mechanical failures and the replacement of many parts of the power units and transmissions outside the permissible limits caused three drivers to be subjected to various penalties that led to them being placed on the starting grid of the main race today.
Ferrari’s hopes suffered a severe blow in the competition for the World Constructors’ Championship, after the team’s driver, Charles Leclerc, received a penalty of falling 10 places from his qualifying place, after the team was forced to install a new battery for its car, its third this season, exceeding the permissible limit (two batteries). Throughout the season), this is part of the strategy adopted by “Formula 1” to reduce the ceiling of expenses and make the teams able to build components that are consistent with the concept of reliability, thus reducing the financial burdens on the championship teams.
Ferrari is in second place, 21 points behind the leader of the constructors’ championship, the McLaren team, which makes the Italian team’s task more difficult in competing to win the title, and gives the British team a good advantage throughout the race to maintain its lead in the standings and win the constructors’ title.
In turn, the two drivers of the Williams team: Thai Alex Albon and Argentine Fernando Colapinto, will fall three places on the starting grid after the team was forced to change components in the transmission level for the team drivers.
3 drivers are competing in their final race
Three drivers are competing in their last race at the Yas Marina Circuit, after their team management decided to dispense with their services starting next season, amid major changes that occurred in the driver lineup.
The veteran Danish driver Kevin Magnussen is competing in his last race with his current team (Haas), after the team management moved to make radical changes to its driver network for the 2025 season, by contracting with the French driver Esteban Ocon, coming from the Alpine team, to be joined by the young driver Olivier Berman, one of the stars. Ferrari Academy.
The Finnish Sauber team duo, Valtteri Bottas, and Chinese Guanyu Guo are also leaving the championship walls, after the team management signed the veteran German driver, Nico Hulkenberg, coming from the Haas team to replace Bottas, in addition to the inclusion of the young talent, the upcoming Brazilian Gabriel Bortoletto. From the Formula 2 racing series to succeed Joe.
Rashid Al Dhaheri wins the first race in Formula 4 Middle East
Emirati driver Rashid Al Dhaheri, ambassador of the Yas Heat Racing team and driver of the Mumbai Falcons Racing team, clinched victory in the first race of the Formula 4 Middle East Championship round, which took place yesterday, at the Yas Marina Circuit, as part of the events and races accompanying the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The conclusion of the Formula 1 racing season.
Al Dhaheri was also able to record the fastest lap in the race, which extended 13 laps, by recording one minute, 56 seconds, and 846 hundredths of a second.
It took Al Dhaheri to finish the race in first place in 27 minutes, 44 seconds and 170 hundredths of a second, ahead of the second-placed driver of the Evans GP team, the British Kai Daryanani, by 1.16 seconds, while the second-placed driver of the Evans GP team was the Dutchman Renault Franson. In third place, 1.14 seconds behind the apparent leader.
The 22 drivers competing in the Formula 4 Middle East Championship will return in 9:45 minutes to participate in the second race included in the championship series.
. .
