Alexey Popov Discusses Fans Discontent with Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix: A Race of Tactics, Not Overtakes

A well-known Russian commentator, **Aleksey Popov**, shared his thoughts on the recently concluded Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“It felt like the morning after a storm, with the storm being about 65% of what we expected. We anticipated a fierce battle in the final, and we did see some action. However, it didn’t turn out quite as exciting as it could have. Firstly, the strategies were significantly different, with all three drivers employing distinct tactics—Lando opted for a two-stop strategy while Max and Oscar went for a single-stop race. One of them had a long first stint on hard tires, while the other started on softs for a shorter duration.

People might have wanted more action and overtakes, which didn’t really materialize. Yet, I believe the race was more compelling than many others; unfortunately, it just didn’t come across that way. Much of what happened was only visible in small snippets or replays, and some events weren’t shown at all. You could only see position changes by closely following the tracker on the left, where you’d notice shifts back and forth. One driver would overtake in the DRS zone, but then another would retaliate shortly after. There were mistakes, battles, and penalties that weren’t displayed, and some drivers even received time penalties post-race.

If the broadcast had depicted the race more effectively, it surely would have garnered greater interest… Another point to consider is that, according to polls in various channels, most viewers weren’t rooting for Lando. We empathized with a decent number of fans, leaning slightly more towards Oscar and significantly more towards Max. Consequently, a race where Lando emerges as champion inevitably attracted less excitement, even if it was incredibly interesting, compared to one where a more favored driver took the title,” Popov expressed on his YouTube channel.