Martin Brundle says 33-year-old driver was ‘absolutely flying’ yesterday in Abu Dhabi

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Martin Brundle was very impressed with how quick Sergio Perez was during the closing stages of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Brundle was commentating alongside David Croft on Sky Sports F1 (26/11 2:12pm) and enjoyed the Mexican’s drive through the pack.

Sergio Perez had plenty to prove going into the final race of the season.

Max Verstappen was over 250 points ahead of his teammate and ended up doubling his points tally by the end of the race after taking the win and fastest lap.

Once again, Perez was making up for lost time after a disappointing qualifying session.

Christian Horner has told the 33-year-old that he needs to improve his performance on Saturday in 2024.

Starting ninth in Abu Dhabi, Perez drove very well on the whole to work his way up the standings and Martin Brundle was impressed with his overall pace.

However, one small mistake later in the race cost him another podium and that very much sums up his season.

Lando Norris was very unimpressed with the move he executed to overtake the McLaren driver.

Brundle highlights Perez pace in Abu Dhabi

Speaking about the battle for the minor points yesterday, Brundle said: “They seem to be don’t they the Spanish drivers [Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz] but [Sergio] Perez then just 1.3 behind Lando Norris now.

“He’s only 4.1 behind George Russell, Perez is absolutely flying along on those fresh tyres.”

Perez was fuming to be penalised for his overtake on Norris, believing it was just a racing incident.

The Mexican is undeniably very quick but his inconsistency means he’s being shown up by Max Verstappen almost every weekend.

He needs to rediscover the form that saw him going toe-to-toe with the Dutchman at the start of the year.

He’s not won since Azerbaijan despite having the same car as the man who won 19 times this season.

Perez will take heart from how he drove through the pack in Abu Dhabi and as Brundle suggests, he was flying when he changed his tyres.

His penalty cost him a guaranteed place on the podium and although he wouldn’t have finished second were it not for the unique circumstances in the Constructors’ Championship, he’s got plenty to fight for next year including his place in the Red Bull team.