Verstappen apologises after clash ends Piastri’s podium dream on first lap
Red Bull’s world champion driver Max Verstappen has apologised after his first-lap move caused a collision with Oscar Piastri and dashed the Australian’s podium dreams at the first turn of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris led the entire race, clinching his fourth trophy at the Yas Marina Circuit and securing McLaren’s first Formula 1 constructors’ title since 1998.
Oscar Piastri spins after a collision with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. Credit: Getty Images
The last race of the season opened in chaos, with Piastri’s McLaren and Verstappen’s Red Bull touching on the first corner, sending the Australian spinning off track.
Verstappen recovered quickly, but was handed a 10-second time penalty by the stewards. The collision caused Piastri to drop from second place to 18th with the Australian voicing his frustration over the radio.
“Yep, move of a world champion that one,” Piastri said.
Sky Sports commenter Martin Brundle labelled Verstappen’s move “unnecessary”.
“It’s so unfair of Max, wasn’t it,” he said. “They are not in the championship. He’s won his championship. To put such a risky move, I know it’s the first lap of a grand prix, there was a gap, Piastri, would he know he [Verstappen] would lunge like that?
“It just wasn’t necessary and hasn’t done Verstappen any good either.”
Piastri’s poor luck continued, receiving a 10-second time penalty after colliding with the back of Franco Colapinto’s Williams.
The Australian fought his way up the grid, scraping into the points with a 10th place finish.
In a post race interview, Piastri said Verstappen “came and apologised straight away”.
Jack Doohan debuted for Alpine at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Credit: AP
“It was a pretty miserable race for myself, but … the biggest thing today is we clinched the championship, it’s a massive credit to everyone at McLaren for what they’ve achieved this year,” Piastri said.
Piastri’s compatriot and Alpine rookie driver Jack Doohan didn’t fare much better, piloting his Alpine to 15th place of 16 finishers in his debut Formula 1 appearance.
The son of former world motorcycling champion Mick Doohan, who was originally meant to begin his Formula 1 career in 2025, had struggled during Saturday’s qualifying session, clocking the slowest time of the day and falling out of Q1. Doohan was promoted for the final race of the 2024 season after Alpie released Esteban Ocon early.
It was even worse race for Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who had to retire early after a clash with Valtteri Bottas in the opening lap which triggered a virtual safety car.
The unfortunate incident casts further doubts over Perez’s seat for next year.
Ferrai duo Carlos Sainz jnr and Charles Leclerc secured second and third place respectively, with Leclerc clinching the accolade for driver of the day.
Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth place in his final race with Mercedes, putting a full stop on his extraordinary 11-year career with the Silver Arrows in which he won 84 grands prix, 153 podiums and six world championships – the most successful driver-team pairing in the sport’s history.
Lewis Hamilton will move to Ferrari next year. Credit: Getty Images
The seven-time world champion walked into the paddock on race day, dressed in a bright red jacket and matching pants – an emphatic nod to his move to Ferrari next year.
Hamilton will debut for the Italian team at the Australian Grand Prix in March in the opening race of 2025 season.
Abu Dhabi prompted emotional post-race farewells for several veteran drivers including Valtteri Bottas and Kevin Magnussen, as well as Zhou Guanyu and young gun Franco Colapinto.
The grid has also welcomed a new generation of young rookies, many who debuted midway through the season including Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman.
‘It will sort itself out’: Tensions between Russell and Verstappen simmer down
The season has been winding down but that hasn’t affected the action off the track over the past week, as Verstappen and Mercedes’ George Russell traded fiery accusations of bullying and lying.
Last weekend in Qatar, Verstappen was stripped of pole position for driving “unnecessarily slowly” in front of Russell during a slow rap.
That allowed Russell to start on pole, prompting the four-time world champion to accuse the Briton of “trying hard to screw him over” in the stewards’ room.
A furious Russell hit back at Verstappen during media day in Abu Dhabi, describing the Red Bull star as a “bully” who thinks he is “above the law” and alleged that Verstappen threatened to put his “f---ing head in the wall” in Qatar.
The drama no doubt delighted Netflix’s Drive to Survive crew, who are preparing for the series’ seventh season in 2025.
However on Sunday, tensions between the pair appeared to have simmered down.
When asked if he and Russell had spoken, Verstappen said, “It will be fine”.
“I mean we have our disagreements now, but I think it’s important we all go on holiday as well and spend time with family and friends ... we just go at it again next year, it will sort itself out,” he said.
Russell echoed similar sentiments, stating he “wasn’t really thinking about it”.
“We’ve got bigger and better things to be worried about …,” he said.
Abbi Pulling wins maiden F1 Academy crown
British driver Abbi Pulling set an unusual record over the weekend, winning the all-female F1 Academy championship for the second time in a week.
The 21-year-old originally secured the title in Qatar, edging out Mercedes rival Doriane Pin. However, only one of the two scheduled Qatar races went ahead due to extensive barrier damage sustained on-track before the session.
The F1 Academy announced a last-minute additional race in Abu Dhabi, indirectly stripping Pulling of her crown and leaving the door open for Pin to usurp her rival.
Fortunately, Pulling had a stellar weekend, converting pole position into victory and winning two races on Saturday to seal the 2024 title again and secure her ninth win this season.
The F1 Academy is an all-female racing series designed to help develop young female divers and provide a pathway up to Formula 1.
The series will return next year, expanding to 18 cars on the grid and featuring 14 races across seven rounds.