International media: 'Most embarrassing day in Hamilton's career'

Max Verstappen's 17th win was, as Christian Horner said over the team radio afterwards, clinical. Without too many problems, the world champion drove to victory in Brazil and the international media observed. Their attention was more on the battle between Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez and the Mercedes team's complete offday.

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail saw how Lewis Hamilton was utterly hopeless, finishing over a minute behind Verstappen in eighth place. The newspaper called the Grand Prix "the most embarrassing day of Lewis Hamilton's career. "There is more chance of Lewis Hamilton winning an eighth world championship with Blackpool Tower Circus than with Mercedes," the medium continued. "Hamilton spelt out what any idiot can see, namely that there is no prospect of his team ending their misery this year or next, or perhaps the one after. What that means for his title dream is obvious. He is 38 and has two seasons to run on his new contract."

Het Laatste Nieuws

Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws saw Verstappen win. Again. "Who else? Max Verstappen also wins Brazil GP, which was rocked by big crash at the start," the Belgians headlined. The race began with Alex Albon and Kevin Magnussen crashing. "It was a tumultuous start to what then seemed to be an entertaining race. For Norris made an early attempt to overtake Verstappen on the track. However, the McLaren driver failed to pass the world champion and then also failed to come close to victory."

BBC

At the BBC, plenty of praise for Fernando Alonso, who had a heroic battle with Sergio Perez. The Spaniard took third place on the line. "They really broke the mould when they made Fernando Alonso," wrote the British site. "At 42, the Spaniard continues to set standards few other drivers can achieve, and to which so many have to aspire. 

"And in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix he produced another extraordinary performance to burnish the legend of one of the greatest drivers in history. There have been a few of those this year, particularly in the first part of the season, when Alonso's return to the front with the newly competitive Aston Martin team was in many ways the story of 2023. But this race to third place behind Max Verstappen and McLaren's Lando Norris was as good as any. It was nothing less than a masterclass, and up there with some of the best of his career. And there have been plenty of those already."

Gazzetta dello Sport

The Gazzetta dello Sport had also enjoyed Alonso. "The other theme was the fantastic third place, almost MotoGP-style because of the gap at the finish, of Fernando Alonso, who did not give in to the (theoretical) power of Sergio Perez's Red Bull. The two-time world champion drove Checo crazy, almost always denying him the opportunity to use the DRS. Perez tried everything, on the penultimate lap he passed and it seemed to be the decisive move."

"But on the last lap, Alonso returned to the front and withstood the final attack, crossing the finish line at 53 (!) thousandths of a second. Confirmation that talent knows no age and that Verstappen really is the man to make the difference with this Red Bull in his hands."