Dutch newspapers: 'Perez not cut from the right cloth'

Rising from ninth on the grid to a deserved victory. Not for the first time, Max Verstappen managed to secure a Grand Prix victory from a seemingly impossible position, showing his pole-starting colleague Sergio Perez who is number one within Red Bull Racing. The Dutch media were therefore unanimous in their praise for their compatriot's performance.

Thus wrote the AD, commenting on the handsome overtaking race: "But what makes him well nigh unbeatable is that precisely when something extra is required of him, he comes very close to perfection time after time. And that was no different in Miami." The Rotterdam newspaper spoke of "a firm tap" that Verstappen dealt Perez: "It showed once again that there is still a clear difference in quality between the two Red Bull drivers. And that Verstappen doesn't just hand over the momentum in the world championship."

'Counts for two'

De Telegraaf also spoke of a "sensitive tap" for Perez, "because even the 33-year-old driver knows all too well by now that an eager Verstappen counts for two". The country's biggest newspaper cited that Perez tried all weekend to copy his teammate's driving behaviour, as that was the way to keep pressure.

"As long as Pérez picks up the crumbs left by Verstappen and at least comes second to Verstappen's victory, then he can ensure that the gap (now 14 points) does not get too big. But the real 'driver circuits' that Verstappen loves and feels better on are all yet to come. For Pérez, that is not a very pleasant prospect,' the newspaper concluded.

'Perez not championship material'

For De Volkskrant, the Grand Prix ended at such a late hour that the print edition could not cover the race. On the medium's website, however, all praise for Verstappen. The newspaper notes how relatively easily Verstappen recaptured the lead of the Grand Prix in the closing stages. "Not that Perez simply let Verstappen pass him on lap 48, but the Dutchman appeared willing to take much more risk in his overtaking than his teammate," it said. Unintentionally, Perez thus illustrated why he is not quite cut from the right cloth to give Red Bull its third consecutive world title."

Finally, De Limburger, the newspaper from the region where Verstappen is from, addressed the disappointment of the Mexican fans: "As loud as the Mexican fans made themselves heard before the race, they were subdued afterwards. Now it was the turn of Verstappen's large fan base. They were lucky to have witnessed perhaps one of the best races of his career."