The Dutch media are praising the achievements of Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing, but it is fair to say that Ferrari and Charles Leclerc are also throwing it all away. According to domestic newspapers, Leclerc is not quite ready to challenge Verstappen over a full season.

The Telegraph

The morning paper notes that Red Bull Racing is not being made that difficult at the moment, but there are also compliments for the Austrian racing stable and its Dutch driver."It is too easy to say that Max Verstappen got his second Formula 1 world title because of the fiddling at Ferrari. Max has performed too consistently this season and is incredibly reliable. The French Grand Prix was another good example of that, with the colossal mistake of rival Charles Leclerc and the snorting of his own teammate Sergio Pérez."

That Verstappen has been performing incredibly well lately anyway is evident from the following statistic. "Looking at his races and results, it's a long search to find the last time Verstappen didn't get on the podium without a technical problem, crash or retirement. Then you would have to go back to the Russian Grand Prix. The one in 2019, that is, more than 1,000 days ago."

Algemeen Dagblad

Leclerc scored zero points at the French Grand Prix and that presents him with an even greater challenge over the next ten Grand Prix weekends. "After strategic blunders, technical defects and reliability problems at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc showed in France with a mistake of his own that he is not yet ready to keep Max Verstappen from the title."

The AD considers Leclerc not quite ready yet. "Without Mercedes, he is who everyone is looking to to make this season even more exciting, as the challenger to world champion Max Verstappen. But while Ferrari have struggled for months to keep pace with Red Bull Racing strategically, technically and in terms of reliability, it was the Monegasque himself who proved that his capacity as a title contender is also in doubt. Where Leclerc showed how not to become champion, Verstappen gave yet another masterclass in 'how to stay on top of the title race'."

The Volkskrant

The difference between Leclerc and Verstappen is currently 63 points and that's a lot considering we're already past the halfway point of the season. "Was it Leclerc's retirement that definitively took the excitement out of the Formula One season? An answer can only be given in four months or so, but it did not take away from the fact that Max Verstappen once again took full advantage of a disaster race by Ferrari in France."

"In summary, Ferrari simply don't look good enough for a title fight over a long, gruelling season; the team management make mistakes at decisive moments under pressure and the engine is not reliable enough. The fast and consistent Leclerc had long looked like the only one at Ferrari who was ready for the title, but in France he too proved not infallible."

Het Parool

Het Par ool writes that Verstappen had two opponents prior to the race with the heat and Leclerc. "The one eliminated himself, the fight with the sun became a lot easier for the Limburger. Okay, after the safety car his opponent of recent years came riding on his tail, but Lewis Hamilton versus Verstappen is not that exciting anymore in 2022."

From that point on, Verstappen stormed to victory undaunted on his hard tyres. "His seventh of the season and an important one. Fireworks were predicted by all the insiders, but not even at the halfway point, the French race was pretty much over in terms of tension. A conclusion that can also be applied to the championship for now, so close to the summer break. Ferrari were on a roll with wins at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring, but had a major off-day in the south of France.