Verstappen hailed by international media after stunning Austrian Grand Prix drive
Photo: Race Pictures
Samson Ero is a Formula 1 editor at GPblog with seven years’ experience in sports media. He covers key paddock developments, offering analysis on drivers, teams, and performance trends, with work featured on leading platforms.
The Austrian Grand Prix panned out to be quite a spectacle, and the international media have made their thoughts known on the Spielberg event.
While George Russell may have returned to victory lane with his well-executed drive, it was Max Verstappen, who finished in second place, who appears to be stealing the spotlight. The Dutch driver and the Red Bull Racing outfit reminded us much of the brilliance they boast with a strong outing to claim second place in the race.
Verstappen, who had appeared to be well off the pace of the front-runners for much of the campaign, was able to challenge much of the grid and was within whiskers of claiming victory at the Red Bull Ring. Here is how the international media reacted to Verstappen’s outing in Austria.
Max Verstappen celebrates on the podium in Austria - Photo: Race Pictures
AS: George is back, but so is the formidable Verstappen
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The Spanish outlet noted: “George is back, but so is the formidable Verstappen.” The paper continued by detailing how championship leader Kimi Antonelli complicated things for himself and referencing early scuffles with Charles Leclerc, before going on to laud Verstappen as one of the smartest drivers on track and touching on his on-track duel with Lewis Hamilton.
“While a Mercedes led, Antonelli's teammate complicated matters by running wide at Turn 3 and then having to give the position back to Leclerc for passing him off the track. Verstappen, the smartest driver on the track, took advantage of this chaos to secure a podium position… and relive one of the greatest duels of the century and in F1 history.”
Corriere della Sera calls Verstappen ‘Super Max’
The Italian outlet would not mince its words despite the disappointment of Ferrari. The outlet labelled Verstappen ‘Super Max’ and ranked him, along with both Mercedes drivers, as the best performers of the weekend. According to the Italian newspaper, Ferrari had no answer to the pace of Russell, Antonelli, and Verstappen at the Red Bull Ring.
The outlet also touched on the possibility of Verstappen mounting a title fight, despite being 98 points off the pace.
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The German outlet, in its assessment of Verstappen, labelled it a great performance in the revamped Red Bull. It also touched on championship leader Kimi Antonelli, who completed the podium, and the struggles Lewis Hamilton suffered after his recent upswing, with the Ferrari star only finishing fifth.
It stated that Verstappen emerged as the big winner of the opening stages of the race after a strong performance in qualifying in the upgraded Red Bull, despite having crashed earlier.
While the plaudits continue to pour in for Verstappen, it is worth noting that the Dutch driver remains the most successful driver at the Red Bull Ring, with five victories, five pole positions, and nine podium finishes to his name.
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