Norris hands McLaren Teams' title with win in Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

 Mohammad Abdullah, Senior Sports Reporter

 Lando Norris produced an electrifying performance to win the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix in style and help McLaren wrap up the first Teams' title since 1998 on Sunday.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix lived up to the billing of being the show stopper as the Teams' title was decided at the last stop, bringing the curtain down on yet another thrilling Formula One season.

Norris clocked the fastest time as he completed the 58 laps in of 1:26: 33 maintaining the stranglehold from the beginning till the end. He finished five seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz to hand the constructors' crown to McLaren after a long gap of 26 years.

Sainz's team-mate Ferrari's Charles Leclerc finished third, 31 second adrift of the winner.

Norris' team-mate Oscar Piastri had a collision with the world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull, who finished sixth. After the collision, Verstappen was given a grid penalty.

This was the fourth victory for Norris, who notched up the first win of his career in the Miami Grand Prix to follow it up with the Netherlands and Singapore events.

While his teammate Pistari won his maiden race at the Hungarian Grand Prix and repeated the feat at Azerbaijan.

The constructors' title carries a big financial reward for teams with a purse of around $140 million.

Red Bull's Verstappen, who finished sixth, had already wrapped up the Drivers' title by winning nine races in the season. He had sealed the title with the victory in Las Vegas Grand Prix but showed his commitment by following it with a dominant win at Qatar - the penultimate race of the season.

With Verstappen already having clinched the Drivers’ title, the fight for the Teams’ title kept the fans on the edge at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

 The duel for the Teams’ title narrowed down to between McLaren and Ferrari.

 Both the teams were separated by just 21  points before moving to Abu Dhabi for the season-ending race.

 Ferrari were trailing by 21 points and with 25 points up for grabs, nothing but they needed a victory to overhaul the lead and grab the 17th constructors' title.

 But Norris and teammate Piastri had put McLaren within sniffing distance of the victory by finishing 1-2 for the pole in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Ferrari's title hopes were dealt a blow when Charles Leclerc was eliminated in Q2 and handed with a 10-place grid penalty, which meant he started from the back of the grid on Sunday.

 However, Leclerc put up a fighting performance to finish third, after starting at the back of the grid.

 Earlier, Norris dominated in the race from the word go and kept the lead from the beginning to the end. Norris was  dominant and kept the Ferrari's duo of  Leclerc and  Sainz at bay.

 But they were also not ready to give up as they kept it hot on the heels of Norris to finish in the second and third position respectively.

 After the victory, a jubilant Norris said, "I am very happy. I cannot describe my feelings. It is an incredible feeling. The best part about the victory was that I could deliver the constructor's title to my team.

 "The credit goes to the whole team. We are going to celebrate the victory. It has been a stellar year. I know myself better now. I know my strength and my weaknesses a lot better," he  added.

 Ferrari's Sainz looked dejected  after missing out on the constructor's title after coming agonisingly close.

 "I am not going to tell any lies. It hurts badly after coming so close and not winning. I tried my best to win it for my team. But I think we were pushed on the back foot  when Leclerc got the penalty on Saturday."

 Leclerc, who started at the 19th grid, was also disappointed after the race. He showed a great resilience to move to the eight in the first lap after starting from 19th.

 "I am also very disappointed as we wanted to win the title. After the first lap, the hopes of winning the Teams' title were revived."

Meanwhile, Hamilton, who finished fourth, bid farewell to Mercedes, the team that carried him to six It was the end of an era as the Briton  left Mercedez after a remarkable 12-year spell. Hamilton will move to Ferrari, who  hope he can rediscover the mojo.