Max Verstappen dethroned world champion Lewis Hamilton in a dramatic final in Abu Dhabi. This is what the international press writes.
NETHERLANDS
NRC: “This title belongs in the same category as the European football team’s victory in 1988, like Richard Krajicek’s triumph at Wimbledon in 1996 and Joop Zoetemelk’s victory at the Tour de France in 1980. Max Verstappen had luck on his side at the right moment. In the last lap in Abu Dhabi he snatched the world championship title, helped by a controversial decision by the race management. “
De Telegraaf: “Max Verstappen has turned Formula 1 on its head since his arrival. Now, after seven years, he is world champion – it has to be the start for further successes.”
De Volkskrant: “Only after four hours of waiting could pop the champagne corks. Sunday was a strange day for Formula 1 and for the Netherlands. “
ENGLAND
Sun: “Max Verstappen is crowned world champion in one of the sport’s most controversial final acts. It has become a habit for Formula 1 to shoot itself in the foot, but this time it used a rocket launcher. After that pathetic show in the summer Belgium, where only a few laps were made behind the safety car to fulfill TV contracts, this was a new low point. It showed that the sport is overregulated, that even the world federation FIA no longer understands the rule book. although it was the best title fight in years. “
This will undoubtedly go very well on Netflix.
DAILY MAIL
Daily Mail: “The biggest climax was expected, so Formula 1 gave the world what the world wanted. However, in doing so it seemed to reverse the concept of fairness and sporting justice. It was a spin on the rule book, the title was in the spirit of the promised drama and spectacle decided. Those who watched loved it. This will undoubtedly go very well on Netflix. But a sober analysis of Max Verstappen’s drive to the world title leaves quite a few observers with a queasy feeling. Win the new Formula 1 Fans with a hand-made finale that is barely understandable outside the stewards’ room? “
Times:“There is no sport that looks more like a TV show than Formula 1. It’s a TV drama on wheels, and Abu Dhabi had the most spectacular and confusing plot twist. Did the right one win? The good or the bad “Well, it was the luckier one. The race director thought the whole year should be decided in one flying round. Big TV, like the whole season. The bad thing is that the rules have changed as the season got hotter. And…” even the rules for the last round weren’t properly applied. That’s where the mistake lies. “
Guardian: “Max Verstappen celebrates his first title, but the huge controversy still leaves doubts about his triumph. In a season in which the two teams have argued more and more bitterly and furiously, the final was a low point in this regard.”
ITALY
Gazzetta dello Sport: “The duel of the century will be decided in the last round. Verstappen is world champion at the end of a grueling battle against Hamilton, a battle that will be remembered for a long time.”
Corriere dello Sport: “World Champion Max, the last race is more exciting than a film. The new Formula 1 emperor has humiliated a giant of Lewis Hamilton’s stature.”
Tuttosport: “Max Verstappen wins with genius and unruliness. He has a lot of talent and little diplomatic skills. His victory marks the beginning of a new era for Formula 1.”
Corriere della Sera: “Super Verstappen wins the craziest race ever. Hamilton has to bow to the young talent and testify that he is a true sir by hugging the winner.”
SWITZERLAND
Blick: “Is Max Verstappen a deserved Formula 1 world champion? Yes, if you take the whole season into account. Lewis Hamilton finally had an equal rival. And the environment of the two unfortunately injected fuel into the fire with every little thing. The The championship was poisoned as a result. Both teams kept running to the FIA and accusing their opponents of violating the rules. In Abu Dhabi, it was not the first wrong decisions by race director Michael Masi that ultimately led to chaos and the understandable Mercedes protest. “
This last lap was truly cinematic, what an epic Formula 1 race!
AS (SPAIN)
SPAIN
Marca: “Verstappen is world champion and overthrows the myth of Hamilton. It was all lost, but a moment of happiness gave Verstappen the chance. The race of the century.”
AS: “Verstappen ‘steals’ Hamilton the best world championship in history. This last lap was truly a cinematic, what an epic Formula 1 race! Long live the new king! Mercedes shows itself to be a bad loser.”
Sport: “Verstappen makes history, he is a deserved world champion. He dethrones Hamilton in the most cruel way.”
El Mundo Deportivo: “We can only stand up and applaud these racing drivers for minutes or hours! What a memorable spectacle by Verstappen and Hamilton. We were able to experience world championship history!
France
L’Équipe: “Hamilton’s wing clipped. After 2016 against Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton lost another final, this time against Max Verstappen. Proof that Britain is neither unbeatable nor infallible.”
Austria
Kronen Zeitung: “Historically! Verstappen ends the Hamilton era. Seldom has a Formula 1 driver demonstrated his talent as impressively as Max Verstappen at a very young age.”
