What the teams said – Race day at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Mercedes

Russell had plenty of wheelspin off the line, and dropped behind Leclerc and Alonso which was far from ideal. He managed to pick off the Aston Martin man, but could not get the Ferrari ahead. As such, he stopped early to try the undercut, which very nearly worked. But he lost pace in the last stint and came home a distant fifth – which was more than enough to secure P2 in the Constructors’ for Mercedes. As for Antonelli, he started on the hard tyre but could not quite make that strategy play out after getting stuck in a DRS train for much of the race.

George Russell, 5th

“That was a very tough race for us this evening. We struggled to find the pace that would threaten those ahead throughout the whole Grand Prix. I had a poor start and dropped down to P6; I got back ahead of Alonso to take P5, but it was a lonely night from there. We knew in normal circumstances that we likely didn’t have the pace to challenge for the podium, but it was still frustrating.

“Whilst the season didn’t end in the way we wanted, we can be pleased that we secured P2 in the Constructors’. It has been a challenging four years in this ground effect era for us as a team and getting P2 was definitely our aim from after the summer break. We’ve ticked that box but ultimately, we want more than this and that is what we are fully focused on delivering in 2026 with the seismic rules change.

“Finally, I want to wish congratulations to Lando (Norris) as he becomes World Champion. We’ve raced together for so long and he is more than deserving of the title. Hopefully we can do battle on track next year for the 2026 crown!”

Kimi Antonelli, 15th

“I struggled with the balance of the car this evening and didn’t have the pace to get back into the points sadly. It was a tough night and a difficult race and that is unfortunate. We’d enjoyed a good run of Grands Prix up to that point but that’s racing sometimes. We’ve got some work to do with the test on Tuesday and our full focus is already on 2026.

“It’s been quite a journey this season. It’s not the way we wanted to end the year, but the most important thing is that we brought home P2 in the Constructors’ Championship. Happily, we were able to do that. Over the winter, we will look back over the season, see where we could have done better, and come back much stronger.

“Congratulations to Lando (Norris) too. He deserves it but also well done to both Max (Verstappen) and Oscar (Piastri) who have also been brilliant this year. It was a great battle all year.”

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport

“Congratulations firstly to Lando Norris on winning the World Championship. He is a worthy winner; I am really happy for him and everyone that is close to him. His parents will be quite rightly proud of his achievement, and I am sure they will enjoy it. Congratulations also to Zak (Brown) and Andrea (Stella); they have done a great job at McLaren to secure both titles this year.

“Our race can be summed up in one word: mediocre. It was a lonely one for George who wasn’t threatened from behind but didn’t have the pace of the front four cars. He was managing his tyres to bring the car home on the one-stop, and he did that successfully. For Kimi, he tried his best from a difficult starting position, but we just didn’t have the speed in the car to enable him to get back into the points. It is not the way we wanted to end the year, but we can be pleased we secured P2 in the Constructors’. Since the midpoint of the season, that has been our aim. It is not what we as Mercedes ultimately want to be fighting for though and hopefully, we can prove ourselves worthy of being in a world title fight next year.”

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

“That was an underwhelming way to end our season. We came into the race hoping to fight for the podium with George and to help Kimi battle back into a solid points scoring position. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace today to do that and had to bear a frustrating evening. Both drivers lost places at the start and things didn’t improve much from there. George was in no man’s land between the top four and the rest of the field. He drove sensibly to bring the car home P5. For Kimi, he needed a good start and a strong car to recover from qualifying and unfortunately did not have either.

“We’re pleased to have secured second place in the Constructors’ Championship in an entertaining, season long battle with Ferrari and Red Bull, we go into the winter very mindful that McLaren won this championship comfortably. We look forward to the immense challenge of the new regulations; we’ve been working hard on the W17 for a long time and will redouble our efforts across the winter in a bid to get back to winning ways.

“Finally, well done to Lando. He drove brilliantly in the final races and is a worthy champion.”