This time on Yas Island, contrary to four years ago, there was no incomprehensible twist of Formula 1 fate. No late crash, no safety cars, no race manipulation. The reality was that it was always going to take something extraordinary for Lando Norris to blow this year’s drivers’ title and, to the delight and relief of the McLaren team on tenterhooks trackside, the closing laps progressed without incident. Their golden boy had his triumph.
As he passed the chequered flag, Norris’s hands went straight to his fluorescent yellow helmet in disbelief. A season in which he started in front, squandered a lead and looked dead and buried in August, has concluded with fulfilling his wildest dreams. The 26-year-old from Somerset becomes Britain’s 11th F1 world champion and McLaren’s first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
