'I will be impressed if anything ever comes close to last lap of Abu Dhabi'

David Croft has revealed that Abu Dhabi 2021 has been the most memorable race he has commented on so far in his career. The Sky Sports commentator states that the battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton that lasted until the last lap has been incredibly special for him.

"I think, of all the races I have covered, and I could go on forever about the great races, but if anything ever comes close to the last lap of Abu Dhabi in 2021, I will be not only stunned but impressed that a sport can do that, to be honest," Croft states in the Sky Sports podcast.

Croft already had such a feeling

'Crofty' already had a hunch it would be the decision for the world title in the final Grand Prix of the year at the Yas Marinas Circuit. "I was in the office one day, about eight races out, going, 'This is going down to the wire. They're going to have the same amount of points when we get to Abu Dhabi.' I could just see it. It was just one of those seasons, and so it transpired. Did we think it was going to come down to the last lap? No, and certainly, for most of the race, it didn't look like it was going to boil up into anything. But that is the beauty of live sport. Things change around in an instant."

The 53-year-old Briton felt honoured to be in the commentary chair in Abu Dhabi on behalf of Sky Sports at the conscious moment. "To be there at the centre of it and to be the lead voice alongside the man [Martin Brundle] who has brought Formula 1 into the homes of people for a lot longer than me and will carry on doing so for many, many years to come, and for Martin and I to be there in that moment and to have the privilege of describing that action, that's what any kid kicking a football around pretending to be Martin Tyler (a well-known British football commentator, ed.) aspires to."