International press euphoric about Verstappen: 'Impressive'

F1 News

11 October 2021 at 07:28
Last update 11 October 2021 at 09:19
  • GPblog.com

Max Verstappen regained the lead in the world championship on Sunday afternoon during the Turkish Grand Prix. The Red Bull Racing driver took second place, while Lewis Hamilton had to settle for fifth. The international press enjoyed the day once again.

Marca

Spain's Marca has great admiration for Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas who showed their added value. "The second drivers from Mercedes and Red Bull, as the world championship shows, showed excellent teamwork. Without Bottas' excellent drive, Max would have a fourteen-point lead over Hamilton."

La Gazzetta dello Sport

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Verstappen didn't have to do many difficult things to secure his second place. "Second place brought him back at the head of the world championship. The maximum with a minimum of effort, so much so that he almost fell asleep. However, titles are also won this way. And he understood that."

Sky Sports

Sky Sports expresses its admiration for Pérez, but then also addresses the Dutchman. "Verstappen, too, can be happy with his drive. While it didn't feature his usual heroics in the wet weather, it was impressive given Red Bull just had nowhere near the pace of Mercedes at Istanbul Park."

Auto, Motor und Sport

The Austrians' performance is incredible according to Auto, Motor und Sport, especially when looking at the power ratios. "Red Bull had estimated good chances of victory in Istanbul after the Mercedes circuits in Monza and Sochi. On Friday alone it was clear that the Verstappen team were only thinking about damage control. The engineers were caught off guard by the high grip level of the track."

Bild

Germany's Bild notes that Hamilton is struggling quite a bit this season. "Hamilton is showing increasing nerves in the battle for the world championship with Verstappen. In Istanbul he finished only fifth due to a strategy error. Valuable points and the World Championship lead lost to Verstappen."

L'Équipe

L'Équipe saw relief above all from the Red Bull driver. "Verstappen was happy to have avoided the pitfalls of the Turkish GP on a wet track on Sunday. His second-place allows him to regain the lead in the championship."