International media praises Verstappen: 'Mad Max is long gone'

La Gazzetta dello Sport

The pink Italian sports newspaper argues that nobody had anything to say against Verstappen on Sunday in Canada. "Max Verstappen is flying, two stars like Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton can only watch as he joins a legend like Ayrton Senna on 41 F1 victories."

And further: "The reality is that right now Max has absolute control over his Red Bull, over race situations, over rivals, over the entire championship. That he has caught up with Senna (despite having more races now than in the Brazilian legend's time) says a lot about the records he is going to break at this rate."

L'Equipe

France's L'Equipe also saw another dominant Verstappen in his RB19. "You have Max Verstappen and then the rest. The Dutch driver, who led from start to finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, recorded his 41st career victory, equalling a certain Ayrton Senna. Red Bull's 100th victory in Formula 1 is undisputed, despite the fact that the competitors' gap was a lot smaller this time."

Kicker

The Dutch Red Bull driver was awake at the start and defended his pole position with verve. "Verstappens' working day started without any problems. From first place, he entered the first corner first and quickly drove away from his pursuers. Up front, Verstappen continued to dominate the action. The two-time world champion complained of poor grip on his new tyres. Still, he extended his lead."

For a moment, Fernando Alonso briefly had hopes of going for victory when he was just five seconds behind Verstappen. "Alonso was even instructed by his team to drive calmly, but replied, 'I want to win the race'. However, the almost faultless Verstappen did not allow that to happen," the German medium said.

AS

"In the absence of overtaking, a race for connoisseurs. Three Formula One legends staged an exhibition of speed and chasing each other to score a podium at the Canadian GP: Verstappen, Alonso and Hamilton, in that order. They drove practically the same for 70 laps, with minimal differences," writes AS.

The Spanish newspaper argues that thanks to updates, Aston Martin managed to seriously narrow the gap to Red Bull. "Fernando was right when he said that the evolutions of the Aston Martin were going to bring him closer to Red Bull, even if they were not enough to overtake him [Verstappen]," it writes. Glass half-empty: Max has led every lap since Miami, over a month earlier. Glass half-full: the two most experienced and talented multiple world champions on this grid [Hamilton and Alonso] are already hot on his [Max's] heels."

Sporza

Belgium's Sporza describes the start as the key point of the race in Montreal. "Actually the start, because that was probably the only opportunity to threaten Max Verstappen. The Dutchman never got into trouble on his way to victory. As in the previous GPs, victory was never in danger for the Dutchman. In his Red Bull, he made a fine start and drove unchallenged to victory, even though he complained about the grip on his tyres at times and was lucky with the timing of the safety car."

The Guardian

Of all newspapers, The Guardian discusses Verstappen's afternoon most extensively. "That Red Bull is still unbeaten this season is largely down to Verstappen. Mercedes and Aston Martin do appear to be moving closer, but equally it must be considered that Verstappen is building a comfortable gap and then merely maintains it, not needing to flog his ride unnecessarily."

The transformation the Dutchman has undergone is unprecedented in the British medium's opinion. "Mad Max, the tempestuos, over-eager, charging youngster that roared up to Formula 1 eight years ago, is long gone. Now he is a more diligent pupil, calmly and methodically getting straight 'A's week in week out without seemingly having to try."

Things never got really exciting at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. "Only the local wildlife giving him [Verstappen] any cause for concern, as he reported he had been hit by a bird early in the race. So in control was he, the unlucky avian might have delivered a frisson of excitement on an otherwise uneventful day at the office. His radio messages to the team were punctuates as much to express how much he was enjoying himself as anything else. Riding kerbs and giggling about it to the team was an ominous indication of the ease of his domination."