Max Verstappen finished the Hungarian Grand Prix in ninth place. This is how International media reacted to his and Red Bull's performances.
Max Verstappen qualified in eighth place for the Hungarian Grand Prix after suffering from understeering in qualifying. During the Grand Prix on Sunday, the Dutchman failed to make progress and ultimately finished ninth.
The Italian media refer to it as Verstappen's toughest weekend of the year. “The world champion finished only ninth: the toughest weekend of the year for him and Red Bull.”
What stood out to the Belgian newspaper HLN was how calm Verstappen remained under the circumstances. In 2024, this was a different story according to the medium. “Remember how Verstappen was ranting all race here exactly a year ago, in Budapest. Even cursing. Because he hopelessly battled for the win for fourth place. Just like he this time hopelessly battled for a place in the top ten. Unusually tame to everyone, was Verstappen.”
According to L’Equipe, there was no reason for joy at the Austrian racing team. “At Red Bull there is no reason to rejoice, with a 9th place for Max Verstappen and a 17th place for Yuki Tsunoda.”
The Spanish media particularly picked up on Verstappen's overtaking of Lewis Hamilton. “The action contained almost everything. Verstappen came along, tried to attack on the inside of turn 3, and in turn 4 it was almost drama. Hamilton tried to avoid a collision, got off the track and lost speed off the track. That made way for the Red Bull driver, who passed him. Yet Verstappen's race fell short due to issues with an uncontrollable RB21.”
The German media claimed that Oscar Piastri's loss is nothing compared to Verstappen's performance. “But that's nothing compared to the fate of Max Verstappen, the defending champion, who only started eighth and ultimately finished ninth.”