This year’s Formula 1 season was an exciting one. Although the drivers’ title was already decided in Las Vegas, there was still so much to play for in the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Here are five things that made the season finale worth watching.

1. First-lap carnage shook up the order. Not everyone finished the first lap scot-free. An ambitious overtake by Max Verstappen (Red Bull) going into Turn 1 resulted in contact with Oscar Piastri (McLaren). The reigning world champion got a 10-second penalty for that.

The other Red Bull driver didn’t fare any better as Sergio Perez was spun by Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) at the chicane. Both drivers failed to finish the race, and it seems that their F1 careers are over, too.

While Piastri was happy about Verstappen’s time penalty, the McLaren driver was also handed one after colliding into Franco Colapinto (Williams) on Lap 3.

2. Lewis Hamilton bid farewell to Mercedes-AMG with an epic drive. Hamilton has been with Mercedes-AMG since 2013. And this race was his final one for the team, with which he scored 84 wins and six drivers’ titles.

He didn’t have a good qualifying though, picking up a bollard on the track that prevented him from making it out of Q1. His time was only good for P18, but he was promoted to P16 after two drivers got grid penalties.

With the odds stacked against him, Hamilton showed us why he’s a seven-time world champion. After a long first stint on the hard tires, he pitted for medium tires on Lap 34—signaling his charge up the field. By Lap 58 (the last one), Hamilton overtook his teammate George Russell for a P4 finish.

3. Alpine finished sixth in the constructors’ standings. While the drivers’ championship brings glory, the constructors’ standings bring the money. Every point matters with millions of dollars at stake for each position. The double-podium of Alpine in Brazil put the French team in contention for P6, alongside Haas and VCARB.

Pierre Gasly (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) had impressive qualifying performances, landing on P6 and P4, respectively. But the Hulk was penalized for overtaking at the pit exit. So, he was demoted to P7 with the Frenchman promoted to P5.

Although Pierre couldn’t hold off drivers from the top teams, he managed to stay ahead of Nico throughout the race. And this secured the French team’s sixth place in the constructors’ standings.

As for the other side of Alpine’s garage, Jack Doohan made his F1 debut with Esteban Ocon’s premature departure. The rookie didn’t score any points, but at least he stayed out of trouble and finished the race in P15.

4. Charles Leclerc climbed from P19 to P3. If Ferrari were to win the constructors’ championship against McLaren, it would have to overcome a 21-point gap in the final race. That was a tall order. Not only did the Papaya drivers lock out the front row, but Charles Leclerc was also in P19 due to a Q2 exit and a 10-place grid penalty.

Despite that, Leclerc was able to capitalize on the mayhem and jump up the order by 11 places on the first lap alone. He gradually worked his way up the field until he was in P3 behind his teammate Carlos Sainz (Ferrari). The Spanish driver inherited P2 after Piastri’s collision, but was unable to keep up with Lando Norris (McLaren).

5. Lando Norris kept it clean and won the race. Although McLaren had the advantage over Ferrari, going into the race, it wasn’t a big one. That’s why the pressure was on Norris and Piastri to maintain the gap.

Things didn’t look too well with Oscar’s collision, and it didn’t help that the two Ferrari drivers were in P2 and P3. But Lando’s victory was enough to seal the title for the Papaya team.

Now that this year’s F1 season is over, we’ll have to wait a while until the racing resumes with the 2025 Australian Grand Prix on March 16.