AP Top News｜决定迈凯伦车手兰多·诺里斯冲击F1冠军的关键时刻

After McLaren driver Lando Norris clinched his first Formula 1 title at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, heres a look at some key moments which helped decide the championship fight.

Norris holds on

Defending champion Max Verstappen won the Abu Dhabi GP from pole position for Red Bull, but Norris held his nerve to finish third.

Having entered the race with a 12-point lead on Verstappen, Norris did enough to beat Verstappen by two points overall in the standings and to finish 13 points ahead of McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri, who placed second in the race.

A slippery start

The very first race of the season in Australia had a split-second moment in the rain with an outsized impact on the standings.

As the rain fell, both Norris and Piastri slipped off the track. Norris held the slide and continued on to victory in Melbourne, while Piastri spun out and trailed in ninth in front of his home crowd. That meant an immediate 23-point swing in Norris favor.

It also helped Verstappen secure a second place which helped his points tally later on. Lewis Hamilton was 10th in a result which paved the way for a disappointing first season with Ferrari.

Norris lowest moments

Asked ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix about the moments which could have changed the title race, Norris pointed to his collision with Piastri at the Canadian GP in June.

Norris was chasing down Piastri with three laps to go when he attempted an ambitious overtake, hitting his teammate and bouncing into the wall. He apologized to the Australian and to the whole McLaren team.

Other notable mistakes included a qualifying crash in Saudi Arabia, while Norris hopes were also hit by a rare engine failure at the Dutch Grand Prix. A home win at the British Grand Prix was an emotional high . Ill remember this more than anything, he said.

Red Bull under new management

Verstappen surged back into the title fight in the second half of the season, and it coincided with an earthquake at Red Bull.

Longtime team principal Christian Horner was ousted after the British Grand Prix, at the halfway point of the season. At the time, Verstappen was struggling to match the pace of the McLarens and hadnt committed to be with the team for 2026. Weeks later, he said hed stay .

Horners replacement Laurent Mekies oversaw a turnaround that began with a sprint race win for Verstappen in Belgium and six Grand Prix wins since then. It hasnt all been plain sailing at one point, Verstappen dropped 104 points off the lead but Red Bull is firmly back among F1s top teams.

Controversial calls

McLarens papaya rules started with a simple statement let em race but swiftly got more complicated.

Rules and precedents were negotiated over team radio, most notoriously at the Italian Grand Prix, when Piastri was asked to give up a place to Norris, whod had a slow pit stop. Piastri indicated he thought a slow stop should just be part of racing.

McLaren also had to step in with unspecified consequences two races later when Norris and Piastri made contact on the first lap in Singapore.

Piastris nightmare weekend

Australia hoped for its first champion in 45 years after Piastri finished on the podium in 14 of the first 16 races of the season, winning seven. It was championship-level consistency.

Then came Baku.

With the F1 paddock still buzzing over McLarens decision in favor of Norris in Italy, Piastri had the worst weekend of his career in Azerbaijan in September, and his form dropped off sharply after that.

The Australian crashed in qualifying, then jumped the start and crashed on the first lap . He wasnt on the podium again until the Qatar Grand Prix more than two months later.

McLaren hands Verstappen momentum

Verstappen would have been out of contention before Abu Dhabi if not for two costly blunders by McLaren which helped Red Bulls four-time champion back into the contest.

Firstly, a setup error at the Las Vegas Grand Prix meant both Norris and Piastris cars were running too close to the ground, causing illegal wear underneath the car. Both were disqualified , meaning a big swing in Verstappens favor.

At the following race a week later in Qatar, McLaren opted not to bring Norris and Piastri in for fresh tires under a safety car. Every other team pitted. That strategy call handed Verstappen the win and left Piastri speechless in second, with Norris fourth.

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AP auto racing:

周日，迈凯伦车手兰多·诺里斯在阿布扎比大奖赛上斩获个人首个一级方程式锦标赛冠军后，以下是决定这场冠军之争的几个关键瞬间。

诺里斯坚持到底

卫冕冠军马克斯·维斯塔潘代表红牛车队从杆位发车赢得阿布扎比大奖赛，而诺里斯则顶住压力获得季军。

诺里斯带着领先维斯塔潘12分的优势进入比赛，最终他以总积分领先维斯塔潘2分的成绩完成赛事，并比迈凯伦队友奥斯卡·皮亚斯特里高出13分，后者在比赛中获得第二名。

出师不利

本赛季在澳大利亚举行的首场比赛中，一个转瞬即逝的雨天瞬间对积分榜产生了巨大影响。

大雨倾盆而下，诺里斯（Norris）和皮亚斯特里（Piastri）双双滑出赛道。诺里斯稳住打滑的赛车，最终在墨尔本站夺冠；而皮亚斯特里则在主场观众面前失控打转，以第九名完赛。这一结果直接让诺里斯在积分榜上反超23分。

这也帮助维斯塔潘（Verstappen）确保了第二名的位置，为他后续的积分累积奠定了基础。而汉密尔顿（Lewis Hamilton）仅位列第十，这一结果为他在法拉利车队首个令人失望的赛季埋下了伏笔。

诺里斯的低谷时刻

在阿布扎比大奖赛前被问及可能改变冠军争夺的关键时刻时，诺里斯提到了六月加拿大站与皮亚斯特里的碰撞事故。

比赛还剩三圈时，诺里斯正紧追皮亚斯特里，随后他尝试了一次激进的超车，结果撞上了队友并反弹至护墙。事后他向这位澳大利亚车手及整个迈凯伦车队致歉。

其他重大失误还包括沙特阿拉伯站的排位赛撞车事故，而诺里斯（Lando Norris）的夺冠希望也因荷兰大奖赛上罕见的引擎故障而破灭。在英国大奖赛主场夺冠则让他情绪高涨。"这将是我最难忘的时刻，"他说道。

红牛迎来新管理层

维斯塔潘在下半赛季强势回归冠军争夺战，与此同时红牛车队内部也发生了剧烈动荡。

在本赛季中途的英国大奖赛后，长期担任车队领队的克里斯蒂安·霍纳（Christian Horner）被解职。当时，维斯塔潘（Verstappen）正苦于无法跟上迈凯伦车队的速度，且尚未承诺2026年继续留队。数周后，他表态将选择留下。

接替霍纳的洛朗·梅基斯见证了一场逆转：维斯塔潘在比利时站冲刺赛夺冠为转折点，此后又斩获六场大奖赛胜利。过程并非一帆风顺——维斯塔潘曾一度落后领先者104分——但红牛车队已强势回归F1顶级车队行列。

争议性判罚

迈凯伦的“木瓜色规则”始于一句简单的口号——“让他们比赛”，但很快就变得复杂起来。

比赛规则和判例通过车队无线电进行了激烈讨论，最引人注目的是意大利大奖赛期间，皮亚斯特里被要求将位置让给诺里斯，后者因维修站停站缓慢而落后。皮亚斯特里表示，他认为停站延误本就是比赛的一部分。

在新加坡站比赛中，诺里斯和皮亚斯特里首圈发生碰撞后，迈凯伦车队不得不在两站比赛后介入处理，但未具体说明将采取何种“处罚措施”。

皮亚斯特里的噩梦周末

澳大利亚期盼着45年来的首位冠军诞生——皮亚斯特里在本赛季前16场比赛中14次登上领奖台，并斩获7场胜利。如此表现堪称冠军级别的稳定性。

随后，巴库登场了。

当F1围场仍在热议迈凯伦车队在意大利站力挺诺里斯的决定时，皮亚斯特里却在9月的阿塞拜疆站遭遇职业生涯最糟糕的周末，此后他的状态急剧下滑。

这位澳大利亚车手在排位赛中撞车，随后又在正赛发车时抢跑，并在首圈再次发生事故。直到两个多月后的卡塔尔大奖赛，他才重返领奖台。

迈凯伦为维斯塔潘注入势头

若非迈凯伦车队两次代价高昂的失误，维斯塔潘本应在阿布扎比站之前就退出冠军争夺。正是这些失误让红牛车队的四届冠军得主重新回到了竞争中。

首先，拉斯维加斯大奖赛上的设置失误导致诺里斯和皮亚斯特里的赛车底盘离地高度过低，造成车底违规磨损。两人因此被取消比赛资格，这一结果使得维斯塔潘获得了巨大优势。

一周后的卡塔尔站比赛中，迈凯伦车队在安全车出动时选择不让诺里斯和皮亚斯特里进站更换新轮胎，而其他车队均选择进站。这一策略决策直接将胜利拱手让给维斯塔潘，皮亚斯特里以“无言以对”的姿态获得亚军，诺里斯则位列第四。

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