Martin Brundle on the results of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Former Formula 1 driver and Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle summed up the results of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix…

This Formula 1 season ended the same way it began – with a dominant victory for Max Verstappen. In 2023, driver and car were a perfect match. Max led 1003 laps, scoring 19 victories. This is his fourth victory in a row at this track.

Max has the best car and team, like his partner, they were opposed by several strong teams and drivers, but he defeated everyone. He won in rain and shine, behind safety cars and under red flags, and in general chaos, and in a few skirmishes. And the team skillfully supported his talent with fantastic reliability, excellent strategies and quick pit stops. I am very glad that I saw this with my own eyes.

I meet fans and sometimes read comments about how boring the season was because one driver dominated. But I have never seen such a density of fighting and such a number of overtakings throughout the peloton. This year we had no outsiders.

Max didn’t do everything perfectly. When the drivers walked onto the grid for the traditional end-of-season group photo, he was booed, something we’ve heard at other tracks as well.

He had some very harsh things to say about Las Vegas, which didn’t make much sense, although on race day, after another victory, he took the event more kindly. But I like that Max expresses his opinion, he is interesting to interview and talk to in the paddock. He is direct and honest and clearly doesn’t care what others think. But a little more diplomacy would have been more appropriate in the legacy he leaves behind, as we are all custodians of this great sport.

As a teenager, when he started racing in Formula 1, he was cantankerous and a little wild, but he overcame these problems and is now a model of calm on the track and honesty in the fight. I don’t understand why he is still considered a villain, but with time it will pass.

Only Carlos Sainz managed to snatch victory from Red Bull thanks to smart driving in Singapore. Charles Leclerc showed speed in qualifying, arguably the fastest now, but has failed to translate his last 12 pole positions into victories, partly due to Verstappen, partly due to a lack of race pace, incidents and sub-optimal strategy.

Sainz finished 16th at the start after a serious crash in practice. Carlos was not happy with the car, which suffered from understeer and oversteer, was unable to earn the crucial few points that Ferrari needed, and retired a lap before the finish.

In the last 11 races, Perez’s average starting position is 10.1, in this case he started from ninth place. One of his overtakes – Norris in turn six – led to a penalty. He slipped a little from the apex, the cars touched and the stewards gave him five seconds. There have been much more serious incidents in racing that have not even been considered, but in this case Perez received a penalty for making contact that could have been avoided. Many in the paddock considered this decision harsh, including me. Others thought it was the right decision, including, of course, the stewards.

Lewis Hamilton started 11th and finished ninth, scoring several important points that helped his team retain second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

A strange incident occurred when Fernando Alonso, after a pit stop, decided to check the effectiveness of Lewis’s brakes, hoping to let him pass first to the DRS detection point, but it didn’t turn out very nicely.

George Russell helped Mercedes by finishing third. He was strong throughout the season and finished very well.

Perez pushed ahead on fresher tires, but received a five-second penalty. George tried to keep up and was able to stay within five seconds.

Leclerc tried to destabilize the situation, wanting Perez to pass Russell, which could provide Ferrari with second place in the Constructors’ Championship. According to my information, Leclerc was the generator of this strategy, so he let Perez take second place. He then had to try to hold off Russell without being more than five seconds behind Perez.

Leclerc was praised for playing fair and not blocking Russell, but I believe his main priority was fighting for second place.

McLaren expected a lot from the race in Abu Dhabi, they were fast in practice and qualifying, but in the race they lost 25 seconds to Verstappen. Overall, the team had a good season.

Yuki Tsunoda also distinguished himself, even leading the race, to the delight of Franz Tost, who was leaving the team. He finished eighth, earning several points.

There is a short off-season ahead, followed by winter tests and the first race in Bahrain. Let’s hope that in 2024 someone will be able to force the fight against Red Bull and we will see more winners.