Anupam- The Dreamer

As the final of the 24 races of the 2024 Formula 1 season comes to an epic end, the result as shown in the pic above couldn’t have made the season more perfect than ever! With Norris seizing the win today, he ensured the Constructors’ Title for McLaren after 26 long years….

What an incredible season it has been for the McLaren! They were not in their great form in the first half of the season, and certainly nowhere in the contenders for the Constructors’ Title. Yet, the turnaround in the latter half of the year was other-worldly. Not only their both drivers, Piastri and Norris, managed to win race after race for them (in total 6 in this season), but they drove excellently whole season to bag the Constructors’ Title for their team. No doubt, their boss Zak Brown would be the happiest man on this earth today!!!! After all, they made the fastest car in this season! But, everything cannot be perfect, as they say it. So, even if it was perfect for the team, however there was a little disappointment in the voice of Norris, who despite being the champion material, lost this title to super Max by a whisker.

As far as Norris is concerned, he has made his intentions clear on the radio after winning this Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, that the next season will be his! And he deserves that. Otherwise, who would dare to think that Norris could be a champion in McLaren, a team which came distant 4^th in the last 2023 season with Norris only managed to secure 6^th spot in the Drivers’ Standings. But Norris has come a long way from last year and he has proven that Max is not the only greatest talent on the grid. The season has been almost perfect for Norris, as he managed to get 8 poles (equalling Max) in this season alongwith 2^nd position overall. The pie on the cake was his win in the last race of Abu Dhabi, without which the McLaren couldn’t have been No. 1 today in the Constructors’ Title, by a wafer thin margin. It could have been more perfect if Norris was the world champion this year, but nevertheless where there is a will, there is a way.

For Mercedes, it was not a great season, with them dropping down 2 places to come only 4^th in the Constructors’ Title, which is the last place among the top teams. With a few wins this season, they somehow managed to bounce back from the disappointing performance in the first half of the season. But the last race proved perfect for them, with Hamilton and Russell scoring 4^th and 5^th, which was the best they could do today. It was the perfect ending for Hamilton, a 7 time world champion, who again proved why he is indeed a legendary champion after starting 16^th on the grid and yet finishing 4^th. And what an amazing final run it was for Hamilton, who overtook Russell in the final 58^th lap of the race. The emotions were running very high for Hamilton, as it was his last race with Mercedes, a team who has given him so very much, before he moves on to Ferrari next season. He was literally in tears, and Toto (Mercedes Team Principal) realizing this, forewarned Russell on radio in the last lap “Just to make it clear. Keep it clean with Lewis”, as Lewis was closing the gap very fast with Russell ahead. Because Toto knew how much it meant for Hamilton to end on a high note, so he advised Russell not to fight back hard, if Lewis comes close to overtake him, which he eventually did. So, in a way, it was a perfect end for Sir Lewis Hamilton. It was not a perfect one for Mercedes though, with Toto saying to Lewis “Best of luck for the next season. If we can’t win, you should win. You are a part of family.”

And now comes the turn for my beloved Ferrari! Ohhh, it is nothing short of a heartbreak this season. After kicking off the season on a low note, both the Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, held the nerves and made a stupendous comeback to win 5 races this season. The highest point of the year was the heartthrob Leclerc winning his home Grand Prix at Monaco! He literally lived his childhood dream. And as F1 commentator summed it up beautifully that “He is winning in front of the same stands, from where he saw the F1 races while growing up”. There is no victory greater than winning it in front of your own family and friends and even more when it has been your childhood dream. This customary dive was what he would have dreamt all his life. And it came when he lost his father. Such an emotional moment it would have been in his life.

The season was not perfect although for Leclerc, who could just finish 3^rd overall. He is a champion material and certainly deserves to win Champion title in his favourite car Ferrari and I hope that his dream of becoming a World Champion comes true the next season.

I feel for his teammate Carlos Sainz, the smoothest operator, who has always given his best for the team Ferrari. He deserved to remain in the team, as he was always a team player and a best buddy to Leclerc. Alas, he was bid adieu by Ferrari to make way for the great Hamilton in next season. Still, he drove all his races including the last race as he always has, with “smooth perfection” to clinch 2^nd position on the podium.

It was almost perfect race for Ferrari at Abu Dhabi, with the 2^nd and 3^rd position at podium, which was the best they could do today. However, perfection is utopian and it is not real. So was the same for Ferrari. They were headed into the last race as a competitor for Constructors’ Title, with just 21 points behind McLaren. It was very tough to overtake McLaren, as its two drivers were in greatest of the form. At the start of the race, there was some hope as Piastri collided with Max and was left out of top spots. But Norris snatched away the win as well as the Constructors’ Title from the Ferrari with his impeccable drive today. Leclerc finished 3^rd. He was not happy and he stood still at the grid, knowing how much it meant for Ferrari to win the Constructors’ Title. Sainz also was brimming with emotions knowing that it is his last race in the legendary red car. And yet he was happy that he managed to deliver the best he could today.

I think it was a perfect race in some sense. McLaren deserved to win, so they did. Norris deserved to win, so he did. Ferrari deserved 2^nd and 3^rd, so they did. Mercedes deserved 4^th and 5^th, so they did. Hamilton deserved to overtake Russell to get 4^th spot, so he did.

And even after this perfection, still there was room for some imperfections. That is the beauty of life, you see….