F1 News: Martin Brundle "sad to hear" fans boo Max Verstappen
Sky F1's Martin Brundle was frustrated to hear the fans in Abu Dhabi boo Max Verstappen, explaining that "nothing can take away" from his performances in 2022.
Verstappen and Red Bull started the season with immense difficulties, suffering costly retirements in Bahrain and Australia.
The Dutchman was convinced that fighting for the championship would be impossible with such poor reliability, as Ferrari excelled in the early stages.
Red Bull quickly addressed these reliability concerns, making the adjustments necessary to avoid any retirements for the rest of the year.
Ferrari's championship chances collapsed as the season developed, making a series of strategic mistakes which - coupled with reliability failures - gave Red Bull control.
Verstappen has performed at an exceptional level throughout the season, demonstrating great pace whilst avoiding many significant errors.
This is not to say Verstappen's second title has been without controversy though, as Red Bull was discovered to have exceeded the budget cap limit in 2021.
Whilst Verstappen obviously has no control over this, Red Bull's finances have done little to improve the team's PR.
In any case, Martin Brundle has expressed his disappointment at hearing boos:
"I was very sad to hear some boos for Max at the end. We have experienced that before for the likes of Schumacher, Vettel, Nico Rosberg and others.
"Over the decades, for various reasons, when fans get a strong feeling about something which has or hasn't happened.
"Red Bull and Verstappen could perhaps shave played smarter hands in Mexico and Brazil over the cost cap, but nothing can take away from their utterly dominant performance this season."
Brundle is correct about the nature of booing in Formula 1, which is often directed at those collecting race victories and championships.
Verstappen will almost certainly be unconcerned by these jeers, considering that they are an almost inevitable part of success.
His refusal to follow team orders in Brazil might have been fresh on the minds of the fans in Abu Dhabi, potentially contributing to their reaction.
In any case, Verstappen will be eager to continue this momentum into next year.