International media: 'Ferrari collapses, Verstappen virtual champion already'

F1 News

1 August 2022 at 07:17
  • GPblog.com

Just when the F1 world thought Ferrari could not screw up again, the team blundered again during the race. Ferrari lost the Hungarian race to Max Verstappen and Mercedes, even though they had a good starting position with both drivers on P2 and P3. The international press praised Verstappen and Red Bull's resilience but condemned Ferrari's blunder.

Marca: 'Ferrari collapses and Verstappen is virtual champion'

Spanish news medium Marca sums up Ferrari's flaws: "Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong in the worst possible way at Ferrari. They work hard to call out blunders with their wrong decisions, consistently bad pit stops and the associated bad luck. They started from P2 and P3 in Hungary behind the theoretically slower [George] Russell."

"The result with Max Verstappen winning (from P10), P2 for Lewis Hamilton (from P8), third place for Russel, Sainz on P4 and Leclerc in sixth, is hard to explain for the team from Maranello. The Dutchman certifies his second world title with a lead of eighty points with nine races to go, while Mercedes has bounced back and is capable of beating the much faster cars of Ferrari."

Bild: 'Verstappen races to world title'

In Germany, they also see that Verstappen can already taste the title. Bild.de writes: "Max Verstappen wins the Hungarian Grand Prix and thus puts the next exclamation mark behind his mission to defend the title. The Red Bull driver increases his lead over Charles Leclerc to eighty points with nine races to go."

"While the Monegasque, who was considered the big favourite in his Ferrari, took another hard hit with P6, Verstappen is going into the summer break with a good feeling. The Dutchman, who only started from P10 after an engine problem during qualifying, crossed the finish line first for the eighth time. And the Hungaroring is a track where it is difficult to overtake.

Gazzetta: 'Verstappen masterpiece, Ferrari's in the distance'

According to the Italian Gazzetta dello Sport Verstappen's world championship is safe after the victory in Hungary and Leclerc says goodbye to his last hope for the title. The medium writes: "Max, who started tenth, put in a great performance by getting everything together to take his eighth win of the season. Mercedes revives with Hamilton second and Russell third. Ferrari struggled with strategies. Sainz was fourth and Leclerc only sixth. He is saying goodbye to the last hope."

The Guardian: 'Verstappen pulls away in the standings'

According to the Brits from The Guardian There were three drivers on the podium who can rightly enjoy a well deserved summer break. For Ferrari, there is work to be done: "For Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, packing the bags for Formula One’s annual summer break will be a joy: buckets and spades and doubtless a spot of Scandi-noir crime fiction hurled in with abandon. They carry the joie de vivre of drivers who will take a deserved rest after claiming the top three places at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

"Ferrari, however, might regard the holidays cancelled and consider just packing their bags to call it a day at the Scuderia after a woeful showing at the Hungaroring that has left Verstappen with one hand on the title."