Foreign media: “Mercedes offers hope to escape Max Verstappen’s stranglehold”

It is starting to become a repetition of moves, as the foreign press also sees: Max Verstappen cannot be beaten. “Max didn’t even sweat,” the Spanish saw Mark. The same also saw the Spanish Mundo Deportivo:,,Verstappen has no rival and is undisputedly on his way to his third world title in a row. Without tousling his hair, he rode to his fifth win of the season. The Red Bull is clearly the best car and in the best hands.”

With the Grand Prix in Barcelona, ​​Spanish media had hoped for a spectacle, but they had to conclude that it was not possible. The Spanish GP was beautiful until the race started ASH. ,,125,000 people on the track, beautiful hymns on the piano and Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso hugging each other in the illusion that they could give all the people in the stands a joyful weekend. Carlos created a bit of a spectacle at the start by attacking Verstappen, but in the end the Spaniards barely managed to leave any crumbs behind. Verstappen was way ahead of everyone and is on his way to his third world title.”

By the French L’Equipe Verstappen was rewarded with a 10 for his performance and Belgium also saw a perfect weekend for Verstappen: ,,Friday, Saturday and Sunday dominate. That’s called a perfect weekend. He left the competition far behind and never looked back The last news. The Belgian colleagues of The newspapaer saw the same: ,,Before the start, the win was already awarded to Verstappen and he never got into trouble. For a moment, the fastest lap seemed to come from George Russell, but the two-time world champion also snatched it: putting the dots on the i, they call it.”

Still, Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in second and third place respectively, caused some optimism in the foreign press about the tension in Formula 1. “Behind the flying Red Bull, a strong Mercedes manifested itself as a revelation of the day. Both Hamilton and Russell set strong lap times again and again and they made life miserable for Sainz and Perez.” Sporza. “Wondering if they can put the heat on Verstappen at the Canadian GP.”

The British press was logically also pleased with the performance of compatriots Hamilton and Russell. “One swallow doesn’t make a summer, but there was an unmistakable hint of bird song in Barcelona that pointed to a Mercedes revival. Behind Verstappen it seems that the pecking order has been revived again. The gap with Red Bull is still immense, but Mercedes seems to be embarking on a long journey that could herald a real competitive battle next year,” writes The Guardian.

The BBC called Verstappen ‘unbeatable’ and Sky Sports also draws hope from Mercedes’ performance: “They were no match for Verstappen yet, but Mercedes showed a huge improvement.” The Sun added: “Mercedes’ best result offers hope to escape the stranglehold of Max Verstappen.”

Not only in Great Britain did the media see how Mercedes gave a sign of life: “Mercedes is on its way to success”, says the German BILD. “Building up, yes. Attacking Red Bull? No. Mercedes has taken a step in the right direction, but Red Bull is still in a class of its own.”

According to the Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport Verstappen therefore deserves to be counted among the greatest drivers ever. With his fortieth GP victory, he has Ayrton Senna (40) within reach, after which only Alain Prost (51), Sebastian Vettel (53), Michael Schumacher (53) and Lewis Hamilton (103) have more victories to their name. “Max deserves to join the greats of Formula 1: not only because of his numbers, but also because of his driving level. The message for this season is clear: there is nothing to get for anyone.”