A few hours after the incredible scenario of this last Grand Prix of the season in F1, newspapers around the world analyze the title of Max Verstappen, winner Sunday in Abu Dhabi, to the detriment of his rival Lewis Hamilton.
Formula 1 wrote one of its most beautiful legends this weekend in Abu Dhabi. Until the end, until the last lap of the final Grand Prix of this completely crazy 2021 season, the queen discipline vibrated at the mercy of the formidable rivalry between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
Leader for 57 laps – out of 58 – the Briton was very close to winning an 8th world crown. But it was without counting the intervention of the safety car after the crash of Nicholas Latifi at the end of the race, which will give the opportunity to the Red Bull driver to return to the game. And even to do better than that since he will go. to dethrone King Lewis by overtaking him in one of the last corners, pocketing at the same time his first title of world champion.
“SuperMax”, “The phenomenon” … In the Netherlands, the hero Max Verstappen greeted as it should
This Monday, inevitably, the Dutch press salutes its hero as it should. The daily by Volkskrant gives the front page to the 24-year-old pilot with the caption: “a narrow victory but so big”. From Telegraaf meanwhile praises the first coronation of an Oranje driver in F1 by titling, after Superman, “SuperMax”. Several daily sports columnists go further by qualifying Verstappen as “the best driver of the last 40 years” after his coronation which brought together more than five million people in front of their post in the Netherlands.
As for the Algemeen Dagblad (AD), we prefer to praise “the phenomenon” which has written one of the most beautiful pages in the history of Dutch sport this weekend. Enough to justify a special supplement with a date engraved forever in your memories: 12-12-2021.
Hamilton “stolen”, “Max Pain” … UK struggles to digest
On the other side of the Channel, inevitably, we grind our teeth. The Daily Telegraph does not bother with the details and cries out “theft” after the defeat of its champion Lewis Hamilton. The daily fumes at the decision taken by the marshals to restart the race on the last lap after the intervention of the safety car. Same story with the Daily Mail, this time with a reference to a famous video game: Grand Theft Auto (“theft Auto”). As a reminder, the two claims filed by Mercedes were both rejected by FIA officials, but the manufacturer said it wanted to appeal after the rejection of its second claim relating to a restart too soon after the intervention of the car from security.
the Daily Express, him too, winks at another video game license: Max Payne, replaced by “Max Pain” – for pain – with as illustration Lewis Hamilton staring into space, stunned by this last lap of the race that saw escape a new title which stretched out its arms to him.