Gazzetta praises Verstappen: 'A sensational weekend, just perfect'

With tens of thousands of Italian fans in the stands, it should have been a great day for Ferrari. However, Charles Leclerc did not win in Imola, but his rival Max Verstappen did. To the regret of all the Tifosi and the most important sports newspaper in the country.

The Gazzetta dello Sport was extremely complimentary about the victory of the reigning world champion. On its website, the pink medium wrote: "Verstappen is the worthy winner of a GP that he dominated on Friday, rectified something by winning in the sprint race on Saturday and continues to dominate today. Hats off to the world champion, who also took home the point for the extra lap. His sensational weekend, just perfect."

After the excellent start of the season, the hope of all Ferrari fans was that championship leader Leclerc would also win at the home race. But already at the start the Monegasque lost two spots, so a catch-up race soon awaited him. Moreover, after his spin at the end of the Grand Prix, the chance of a podium finish evaporated.

The Gazzetta calls the Grand Prix "the first real crash of the season" for Ferrari. "It is a very hard reality to accept for the fans in Imola, who were dreaming of a completely different GP of Emilia Romagna," was the comment. The final conclusion was, "Today (Ferrari) was paralyzed by setbacks and mistakes."