Martin Brundle blown away by ‘beautiful’ F1 star in Abu Dhabi today

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It was an Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that once again went down to the final lap for plenty of drivers and teams including Yuki Tsunoda.

Commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1, Martin Brundle and David Croft were overseeing the finale of the 2023 season.

Once Max Verstappen swooped past Charles Leclerc going into the opening corner of the race, it was clear that the Dutchman was on his way to a record 19^th victory of the season.

However, almost every driver and team has plenty to play for today.

The main battle was between Mercedes and Ferrari and it went down to the last few corners as Leclerc tried everything he could to earn his team the runners-up spot.

He even allowed Sergio Perez to overtake him to try and open up the five-second to Russell after picking up a penalty following contact with Lando Norris.

Behind the top teams, Yuki Tsunoda produced a fantastic drive in Abu Dhabi to try and earn AlphaTauri seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Williams, Alfa Romeo and Haas were nowhere near the top ten, but Tsunoda showed the floor upgrade the team brought to the final race worked, even if they finished three points short of their nearest rivals.

Tsunoda stars in Abu Dhabi

Speaking midway through the race, Brundle said: “I think George Russell will scamper down the road down, such is his pace, after Lando Norris.

“Piastri is going to have to eat the turbulent air from the back of the Mercedes and he now has Yuki Tsunoda on his tail, who is driving a beautiful race.”

Tsunoda ended up being voted Driver of the Day by Formula 1 fans today which shows his popularity within the sport.

It was also the first time that the Japanese driver had led a Grand Prix as he tried to run a one-stop strategy.

In his final race as AlphaTauri team principal, Franz Tost would have known how difficult that would have been for the 23-year-old to execute.

He had to try and fight off the likes of Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso and unfortunately couldn’t secure the necessary points.

However, Tsunoda’s move to re-overtake Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to come home eighth showcased his talent.

He’ll be entering his fourth season with AlphaTauri next year and by the end of the campaign will be approaching 100 Grand Prix.

It might be time for Tsunoda to continue just how much longer he wants to spend in the renamed Red Bull sister team.