Norris: Leclerc’s lightning start made McLaren “nervous” over title bid

Lando Norris said Charles Leclerc’s miracle recovery in Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix made McLaren more nervous as it battled the Scuderia for the constructors’ championship.

McLaren looked perfectly poised to defend its 21-point gap to Ferrari with both Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri leading Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz off the front row, while the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc started at the rear of the field with a grid penalty after being eliminated in Q2.

But the papaya team’s title bid came under much more pressure once Piastri was spun around by Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen in the first corner, while Leclerc made a perfect getaway and dodged sparring midfielders to gain 11 places in one lap.

Leclerc continued his strong recovery drive to claim third behind Sainz as the pair clinched a double podium on their last weekend as Ferrari team-mates, but Norris took a relatively comfortable victory that sealed McLaren’s first constructors’ title since 1998.

Norris admitted that once he saw Leclerc immediately jump to eighth on the big screens around the Yas Marina circuit, and Piastri had been knocked out of contention at the front, there was some nervousness about McLaren being much more exposed.

“I was watching the TV screens and I saw Charles was P8 after lap one, so I was a little bit nervous!” Norris grinned. “But I knew I just had to focus on myself, put my head down.

“Carlos was never far away. I think the biggest I got the gap to was, like, 4.2 seconds in the first stint, and that’s not a very nice gap in my opinion. It’s a bit too close to my comfort.

“So, it was still a tricky race, and I’m sure there was probably a lot more nervous people on the pitwall and in the garage, knowing what was at stake. I’ve got the adrenaline of the car and focused on that. For them, they’re just sitting and watching the screens, and they have a lot more time to think about what can go wrong and all of that.”

“Oscar was super unlucky, he got taken out in Turn 1. So for a minute, my heart was like, ‘oh God, it’s not looking as likely’. But if I just kept my head down and kept focused, I knew I could deliver and do what I got to do.”

Norris said he was “incredibly proud” to play a part in McLaren getting back to winning ways for its first constructors’ trophy in 26 years, while paying tribute to the team’s staff across its many departments at the track and at its Woking headquarters.

“The bigger picture of us winning a championship for the first time in 26 years, you wouldn’t have thought that when you say the name McLaren,” he added. “It feels wrong to say that they’ve not won a championship in 26 years. But for me to be part of that, for Oscar to be part of it, is something we’re incredibly proud of.

“And delivering that for the team has put the biggest smile possible on everyone’s face. This is the biggest reward you can give back to everyone who designs the car, builds the car, gets the partners. Everyone has played such a big part, so just proud.

“Of course, I’m happy I finished the season this way, but I’m way more happy for the team than I am for myself.”

Photos from Abu Dhabi GP Race