F1 Media: 'Hamilton stripped of 2nd place 4 hours after loss to Verstappen'

For newspaper editors, it was a long day. Only hours after Max Verstappen captured his 50th victory, the results of the US Grand Prix became final. Lewis Hamilton had been eliminated from it. This led to outrage in England, and understanding in France. What everyone did agree on: Max Verstappen delivered another top performance in Austin.

Het Laatste Nieuws

Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws praised Max Verstappen for his performance at the US Grand Prix. The medium pointed out that the Belgian-born Dutchman had had to work hard for it at the Circuit of the Americas. "Because the fact that he started with a deficit could have added some tension, an extra challenge for him," it said. And Verstappen is hardly ever challenged in Formula 1 at the moment. He is in a class of his own and regularly leads races from start to finish."

"All in all, the competition was more hopeful in Austin than it had been in ages. Hamilton - who was thus later removed from the results - also ended up only two seconds short of Verstappen, who was constantly fussing over the team radio. But it made no difference to the outcome of the Grand Prix. Verstappen managed to take his 15th win of the season anyway. Equalling the record he already set last year. And that with four grands prix to go," HLN concluded.

l'Equipe

French sports newspaper l'Equipe also cited Verstappen winning almost all Grands Prix this season. The newspaper felt that only at the start was a moment of vigilance needed. Once Verstappen survived the first corner, a tactical game ensued. "In a well-planned race, Max Verstappen took advantage of the pit stops to beat his two most serious rivals, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. After that, all that was left was to cross the finish line," l'Equipe wrote.

The newspaper also dwelt on the disqualification of Hamilton and Leclerc: "The rules. Just the rules. All the rules. This is how it is in F1. At the slightest technical irregularity to a car found by the FIA commissioners, there is a sanction. If a car is deemed illegal, it is automatically disqualified from the race, regardless of the seriousness of the fault," French said.

Daily Mail

Rarely does a sports story move into 'pole position' on the DailyMail's news website. It usually means a British person has won a World Championship or the national team in one of the more popular sports are finding success or having dramatic failure. It's even rarer to see a sports story remain as the first article on the website almost 12 hours after the event, especially considering what's currently happening around the world.

But Hamilton seems to have rewritten those rules as the news of his disqualification went into the website's pole position and remained there until mid-morning at least. The newspaper liked to point out that the FIA made the decision late with the headline reading: "Controversy as seven-time world champion is stripped of second place finish nearly FOUR HOURS after losing to Max Verstappen".

They later highlighted that a previous example of the same penalty once helped a Brit: "it's not the first time racing stars have suffered such a fate. Michael Schumacher was disqualified from the 1994 Belgian Grand Prix for the same offence, meaning Damon Hill took the win".

Gazzetta dello Sport

The authoritative Gazzetta dello Sport also saw Max Verstappen triumph. This led to the following jubilant headline: "Verstappen is king in the US too: his 50th win in F1 is in!" The pink newspaper praised not only the three-time champion but the entire Red Bull Racing team. "Verstappen and Red Bull are dominant, but this GP was no mean feat for the Dutch super champion. Starting sixth, he had to drive a controlled first part, in which Norris and Hamilton seemed ready to fight for victory. But even in this GP, we saw how Verstappen won not only thanks to his enormous talent but also to the excellent work in the pit wall and his mechanics."

Bild

German newspaper Bild also used the word 'king'. In doing so, the medium said Max Verstappen is "simply unbeatable". This is backed up by stats: "Max Verstappen (26) breaks his own record with his fifteenth Grand Prix victory of the season in Austin/USA: he has 466 points so far this season. In 2022, Verstappen achieved 'only' 454 points. All in all, the Dutchman has scored over 90 per cent of all possible points this season. Now also a record!"

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