Brown: I was ready to have a heart attack for two hours

McLaren have won their first F1 constructors' title since 1998. That means Lando Norris was one year old when they last won it while Oscar Piastri was not even born.

While McLaren arrived in Abu Dhabi leading the constructors' standings, and while they also locked out the front row for the start of the grand prix with Norris on pole, the start of the race was far from ideal with Piastri hit by Max Verstappen on the opening lap and then getting slapped with a ten-second time penalty for crashing into the rear of Williams' Franco Colapinto.

While Ferrari were never really a threat, Norris could not really break away from Carlos Sainz, who was there, ready to pounce at the slightest of errors from the #4 McLaren car driver.

Charles Leclerc, on the other hand, came storming through the pack to finish third behind Sainz, who was second. Piastri finished tenth.

"That was the worst two hours of my life, by far," Zak Brown told Sky Sports F1. "Lando drove brilliantly. Unfortunate what happened to Oscar at the start, but the team was flawless.

"They executed the pit stop great. And I think I was the only one who was ready to have a heart attack for about two hours."

Brown hailed Norris' performance in the 2024 F1 season finale; he added: "That race, he carried us. To not make any mistakes, and we were worried about Safety Cars, I was worried about everything, and he drove flawlessly, as he’s done.

“So next, try to repeat constructors’ and get the drivers’. I’ll let Oscar and Lando figure that one out," the American quipped.

Norris said on the cool down lap that 2025 will be his year; Brown commented: "He’s going to give it all he’s got. And given the momentum he’s on, I wouldn’t bet against him."

And while Brown was the one who went up on the podium to collect the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix winning constructor's trophy, he did not fail to credit the person who has managed McLaren on a day-to-day basis, leading them to this success, team principal Andrea Stella.

"He’s just an unbelievable leader," Brown said of the Italian. "He leads by example, he empowers people, he’s very technical, and he pushes everyone to get the best out of them. And that’s what you saw tonight."

McLaren ultimately outscored Ferrari by only 14 points to clinch their ninth constructors' title in F1.