Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle assesses Max Verstappen – the man and the driver – at the end of the Dutchman’s record-breaking year and how 2023's final battles played out in Abu Dhabi; Plus: Martin explains how you can help support the work of the Grand Prix Trust
Tuesday 28 November 2023 06:08, UK
This F1 season finishes in much the same way it started with a dominant and assured victory by Max Verstappen. It was all of course largely about a man and his machine and team working in unison in the most spectacular fashion.
He led 1,003 laps in total for his 19th victory this season, his 54th overall. It was his fourth straight victory at this circuit, indeed including the infamous 2021 race when passing Lewis Hamilton on the last lap.
Max has had the best team and car this season, but so too has Sergio Perez, and they've been up against several mighty teams and world-class drivers. Max has simply thrashed everybody.
He emerged victorious through rain and shine, safety cars and red flags, along with general chaos and a few skirmishes. And the team ably supported his talent with predominantly bullet-proof reliability and great strategies and pit stops. I'm very pleased I witnessed it.
I meet fans and read the feisty comments people like to amplify on X, saying what a boring season it was, presumably because one combination dominated. From my perspective I don't believe I've ever witnessed such a level of close racing, overtakes, and jeopardy through the entire field, which further closed as the season progressed.
We saw it many times in qualifying if the established front runners and big guns weren't fulfilling their potential and delivering the lap times, pretty much any driver on the grid could out-qualify and even out-race them in their midfield cars. We didn't have a tail-end this year.
Max didn't get everything right, for example when the drivers walked out to the grid for the traditional end of season group photograph there were some boos as he emerged, as we've heard at some other tracks too.
He had a very vocal downer on Las Vegas, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to express in that way, although he warmed up to the event on race day after yet another victory.
I like that Max speaks his mind and I've always found him very refreshing to interview, and also simply to chat to in the paddock.
He's very direct and honest, what you see is what you get, and he clearly doesn't care all that much what others think. I can't help but feel that a little more diplomacy and balance would be more fitting to the legacy he will leave, and after all, we are all only guardians of this great sport as we pass through.
Of course, he was feisty and a little wild as a teenager when first racing in F1, but he sorted that out and is mostly a model of calm out on track now, and as fair as anybody else when it comes to hard racing. I don't understand why he's still seen as the villain, but the fans will make up their own minds.
Behind him was an intriguing championship battle between two titans of our sport in Ferrari and Mercedes.
Between those teams and four drivers they've had a rollercoaster of elation and disappointment through the season. Only Carlos Sainz had managed to snatch a victory away from Red Bull with a clever drive in Singapore.
Charles Leclerc has shown his blistering speed on many a qualifying lap, you could argue that he's the fastest out there at the moment. But he's failed to convert his last 12 pole positions into victories largely because of Mr M Verstappen, and partly due to lack of race pace, incidents, and sub-optimal strategies.
The powerful aerodynamics of the latest F1 cars can be knife edge to perfect, and combined with tyres which can be very sensitive to core and tread surface temperatures, and track layouts, and other mood swings, all bar one driver has had a variable season in terms of race results.
All this meant that Ferrari and Mercedes, and in turn McLaren and Aston Martin, along with drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Sainz, had much to play for with regard to final championship standings in those final 58 laps.
Out of position on the grid was Sainz in 16th after a sizeable practice crash and, like everyone else to an extent, disrupted preparation.
But Carlos was never fully happy with his car, experiencing unpredictable understeer and oversteer and sliding around, and on a strategy which needed a never-to-be-seen safety car to help it play out, he couldn't score the crucial few points which Ferrari needed, and in fact retired with a lap to go, almost unnoticed.
In the final 11 races Perez's average qualifying grid slot was 10.1 and he would have to make yet another charge from ninth on the grid on this occasion.
One of his overtakes was on Norris into turn six. It looked as if he was sufficiently alongside and had claimed the corner and position. He slid a little away from the apex but not in a wild way with his wheels locked. Norris needed to turn in too and they made contact.
Significantly worse than that has happened in races and not even been reviewed, but on this occasion Perez was given a five-second penalty for 'diving in late and missing the apex' thereby making avoidable contact.
Many in the paddock thought that was harsh, including me. Others felt it was the right decision, including the Stewards of course.
A dejected Lewis Hamilton started from P11 and had a few skirmishes on his way to ninth place and couple of important world championship points, which would help keep his team in second place in the Constructors' Championship.
There was a strange incident when Fernando Alonso emerged from the pits and appeared to heavily brake test Lewis, which caught him off guard. Fernando was hoping to let Lewis through the DRS detection point first ready for the long straights, but it all looked rather sketchy to say the least.
George Russell saved the day for Mercedes with a fine third place and podium even if he finished fourth on the road. George had been strong throughout and finished the season in style.
Perez was charging through with eight-lap fresher tyres but also carrying that five-second penalty. George was never going to keep him behind but likely able stay within five seconds with just a handful of laps to go. He finished 3.9 seconds behind Perez and so regained the podium.
Cunningly trying to destabilise all this was Leclerc who, while doing his mental championship calculations at 200mph, wanted Perez to pass Russell which could well have seized second place for Ferrari in the constructors'.
I'm reliably informed that it was indeed Leclerc generating much of this tactic, and so he let Perez past into second place on the road. Then he needed to try to delay Russell without himself falling more than five seconds behind Perez thereby giving up second and those crucial points. Now that's a juggling act given how quickly an F1 car can cover ground.
Leclerc received kudos all round for fair play in not blocking to slow Russell, but I expect that not losing second place was his biggest priority.
McLaren expected much and promised plenty from this track and looked good during the disrupted practice sessions and qualifying, but fifth and sixth in the race some 25 seconds behind a cruising Verstappen was disappointing for them. Overall McLaren has had a solid and promising season though.
Another standout in the race was Yuki Tsunoda hoping to one stop his AlphaTauri from sixth on the grid. After leading the race through pit-stop phases, much to the delight no doubt of the departing team boss Franz Tost, he would fade a little to eighth place and some championship points.
So we head into what will feel like a very short close season before we travel to Bahrain for testing and the first race. Let's hope the field can close the gap to Red Bull for 2024 for more varied victors.
First up we have the Autosport Awards in London which, whether you attend or simply bid online from wherever you are in the world, includes a great silent auction and prize draw in aid of the Grand Prix Trust charity, of which I am Chairman of the Trustees.
Take a look at the prizes below, and I may well see you in the F1 paddock next year.
Have a great Christmas and New Year.
24 races in 2024! Watch every round of next season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix from February 29-March 2. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
