Martin Brundle on Abu Dhabi Grand Prix results…

Former Formula 1 driver, Sky Sport F1 commentator Martin Brandl summed up the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix…

What happened over the Formula 1 weekend in Abu Dhabi had more to do with off-track events than with the race itself. Everyone was constantly saying this was the last Grand Prix for Sebastian Vettel – I was happy to see genuine love for the German in the paddock.

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend was his unique dinner with fellow riders. I liked the photo on social media of 20 glasses of water neatly arranged – this was supposed to indicate that none of them had even had beer or wine.

If you remember Seb’s days at Red Bull, when he and Webber were at each other’s throats, the Malaysian Multi 21, retirement in Istanbul and his contacts with teammate Charles Leclerc at Ferrari, Vettel doesn’t seem so sacred. He was as absurd, selfish and insufferable as a four-time world champion should be.

Like all of us, he relaxed over time, but he was always young at heart – it was a pleasure to meet and interview him during these 15 seasons. Seb is a great racer and person so everyone loves and respects him. What I remember most is that at the end of the 2019 Canadian Grand Prix, he felt cheated by a fine – and moved 1st and 2nd place markers in an enclosed park. Classic!

I remember Fernando Alonso’s emotional interview on the grid in Abu Dhabi in 2018 when he said goodbye to Formula 1, but now he has a contract until the end of 2024. There was more confidence in Sebastian’s words and actions that he never again would come back.

This race was, at least for a while, the last in Formula 1 for Daniel Ricciardo, Mick Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi. Daniel will also work at Red Bull, Mick will probably find a place in the Mercedes family. I don’t know Nicholas’s plans, although there are rumors about IndyCar. We are delighted to welcome Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargent, Nick de Vries and the return of Nico Hulkenberg to F1.

Yas Marina’s track looked great as always, but in the team’s qualifying they solved it “in pairs” as always. Two Red Bull cars, two Ferraris, two Mercedes. As expected, everything in the race depended on tire wear control, no external factors such as the safety car and the highly unlikely rain.

The Red Bull drivers took the lead and although Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were unusually fast for this year’s Mercedes, the order remained the same as in qualifying.

Hamilton bounced onto the curb while trying to stay on the outside in the battle with Sainz at turn six, and was out of the track. The stewards did not penalize Sainz and Hamilton was asked to return the position, which he did.

The result was damage to Hamilton’s underside, which was partially repaired during his only pit stop. The mechanics adjusted the angle of attack of the front wing to improve the aerodynamic balance. After that Lewis was very fast until he retired due to his car’s first mechanical failure this year. She competed in 22 Grands Prix, including three sprint weekends. Impressive.

The exciting battle between McLaren, Alpine and Aston Martin provided the necessary sharpness in the race.

Commenting on the race, I said that Max Verstappen drives Michael Schumacher’s style. It seemed to me that no matter how slow he drove to save the tyres, he still got away from his rivals.

Ferrari claims they tricked Red Bull into calling Leclerc to pit ahead of Perez, even though they planned one tire change right away. This radio exchange triggered Perez’s pit stop on lap 15 – and the move to a two-stop strategy, meaning he had to overtake and overtake Leclerc to finish second and finish the season second in the individual standings. In this fight he lost by an unfortunate margin of 1.322 seconds, suffering from every slowdown and blockage of the brakes.