Martin Brundle on the results of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

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

This Formula 1 season ended as it began: with a dominant victory for Max Verstappen. In 2023, driver and car were a perfect match. Max led 1003 laps and scored 19 victories. This is his fourth victory in a row at this circuit.

Max has the best car and the best team, just like his partner. They faced opposition from several strong teams and drivers, but he beat 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 expertly supported its talent with fantastic reliability, excellent strategies and quick pit stops. I’m very glad 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 battles and such a number of overtakes in the peloton. This year we had no outsiders.

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

He had some very harsh things to say about Las Vegas, which didn’t make much sense, although on race day, after another win, he took the event more kindly. But I like that Max gives 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.

When he started in Formula 1 as a teenager, he was grumpy and a bit wild, but he overcame these problems and is now an example of calmness on the track and honesty in battle. I don’t understand why he is still considered a villain, but in time that will pass.

Only Carlos Sainz managed to steal the victory from Red Bull thanks to smart driving in Singapore. Charles Leclerc showed speed in qualifying, perhaps the fastest now, but failed to translate his last twelve pole positions into victories, partly thanks to Verstappen, partly due to a lack of race pace, incidents and a 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 gain the crucial points Ferrari needed and retired one lap before the finish.

Over 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 off the top, the cars touched and the stewards gave him five seconds. There have been far more serious incidents in racing that haven’t even been considered, but in this case Perez was penalized for making contact that could have been avoided. Many in the paddock found this decision harsh, including me. Others thought it was the right decision, including of course the stewards.

Lewis Hamilton started eleventh 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 decided to check the effectiveness of Lewis’ brakes after a pit stop, hoping to let him through to the DRS detection point first, but that didn’t turn out so well.

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

Perez continued on newer tires, but was given a five-second time penalty. George tried to keep up and was able to stay within five seconds.

Leclerc tried to destabilize the situation by wanting Perez to pass Russell, which could give Ferrari 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 think 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 lost 25 seconds to Verstappen in the race. Overall, the team had a good season.

Yuki Tsunoda also distinguished himself and even led the race, much to the delight of Franz Tost, who left the team. He finished eighth and earned several points.

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