“It was really enjoyable out there today” – Max Verstappen led from start to finish as he beat the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to win the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Like Crofty said from the Sky F1 broadcast, Max Verstappen (almost) completed the ‘F1 Grand Slam’ this weekend. He finished qualifying in pole position, and led the race from start to finish, in an incredible display of control and fine strategy. More impressively, he never looked in danger against the two Mercedes men – Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton.
That Verstappen was chosen as the Driver of the Day by fans was the icing on the cake. The only blip he suffered was when Daniel Ricciardo took the bonus point for the fastest lap in his Renault. The Dutchman spoke to Sky F1’s Martin Brundle after the race and expectedly sounded pleased with how the weekend went.
“It was really enjoyable yesterday already and today, of course. We had a good start and from there on, of course, you look after the tyres, but the car was having a good balance. We did everything alright. Once you start upfront you can control the race a bit more and it makes your life easier.”
Max Verstappen is a future world champion in the making, provided he gets the drive he deserves. Red Bull is good, but simply no match for the might of Mercedes. It remains to be seen if we can have the dream combo of Verstappen and Hamilton at Mercedes in the near future.
