International press | 'Looked like Verstappen came back from a day at the beach'

F1 News

31 October 2022 at 08:09
  • GPblog.com

After the 14th win of the season for Max Verstappen, the international press are focusing on the Dutch Red Bull Racing driver who 'effortlessly' won the Mexican Grand Prix. Indeed, Verstappen broke a particularly impressive record.

The Guardian - United Kingdom

All the media are impressed by Verstappen's fourteenth win, but The Guardian seems extra impressed by how little effort it seemed to take the Dutchman in Mexico. Under the heading 'Max Verstappen dominates Mexican GP to set record for wins in a season, it says: "Every bit a man at the top of his game, Max Verstappen had barely broken a sweat as he wrote his name into the Formula One record books. Untroubled and unruffled after climbing from his car, he might have just enjoyed a Sunday afternoon jaunt to the seaside. It was an image that might sum up his season. He took an unmatched campaign win tally and the race in his stride, just as he has already definitively sealed his second world championship."

AS - Spain

The Spanish AS sees Verstappen going from record to record every race. 14 wins in a single season does not escape the Spanish medium's attention either. Verstappen is the first driver to grab 14 race wins in a season, with AS noting, though, " Michael Schumacher's percentage of thirteen wins is higher, though, because eighteen Grands Prix were run in that year. The Dutchman still has two races ahead of him, in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, to further refine his record, which is already historic. Remarkably, a great champion like Lewis Hamilton has never managed to achieve this. He did win 11 races in a season four times."

Gazzetta dello Sport - Italy

The Italian newspaper also has plenty of coverage of Verstappen, who has now broken the record held by Ferrari legend Michael Schumacher and former Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel. "There is no driver like Verstappen" the website headlines. For current Ferrari drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, according to Gazzetta a day to quickly forget.

"And there is number 14! Verstappen has become the driver with the most wins in a season. It is a golden season for the Dutch world champion, who celebrated his victory with a gold helmet and with this record. He has now passed two hallowed racing monsters, Schumacher and Vettel. [...] It is a weekend to forget for Ferrari. The team finished fifth and sixth behind George Russell. The Scuderia was not competitive on this track and there is still a lot of homework to do."

Bild - Germany

"Verstappen breaks Schumi's record" writes the German Bild. There is a sense of awe at the performance of the two-time world champion, who sharpens the record of the German seven-time world champion. "No driver has ever done this!"

The race itself was of great class from the Dutchman: "For Verstappen, it was a race from start to finish without challenge. The Dutchman, who already has the title in his pocket, dominated the race from the start. Lewis Hamilton finished second, but had no realistic chance of victory during the race. Verstappen's teammate and local hero Perez completed the podium with P3."

L'Equipe - France

Finally, the French L'Equipe briefly mentions Verstappen's peerless season with its 14 victories. It also highlights the exceptional performance Verstappen showed in Mexico. L'Equipe: "With his start on soft tyres, he took advantage of Mercedes' divergent strategy, staying in front at the first corner on a circuit where pole position is almost never the best place to start from. This Red Bull driver is just so far above the rest that nothing or no one can take him on."