Verstappen denounced by media: 'Hamilton thinks something of this'

The Guardian

"Verstappen has not had a challenge such as this since he and Lewis Hamilton went at it hammer and tongs in 2021, and there was a distinct air of that season to the events in Austria," writes the British newspaper The Guardian.

"The Dutchman has looked at ease, cruising with relentless precision to wins over the past two years but questions now will inevitably and rightly be asked over whether he is an altogether different beast when put under real pressure and forced to go wheel to wheel. Hamilton will doubtless have an opinion on that given how familiar he is with how that ruthlessness is demonstrated when push comes to shove."

Corriere della Sera

"In the past, Max was occasionally a Doctor Jekyll who sometimes turned into the villainous Mr Hyde. Thanks to his dominance over his rivals, that hasn't happened for a while, but provoked by the McLarens, the moment when he came to his senses and changed back into Jekyll remained out," Corriere della Sera writes.

The Italian newspaper calls Verstappen's action "indefensible" and argues that the Dutchman "should be sent to bed without supper". Consequently, Verstappen gets a scathing report mark: only a 4 for the Red Bull Racing driver, while Norris gets an 8. Calling Norris' earlier attack 'too optimistic', the McLaren driver gets high praise for managing to push Verstappen to the limit.

Marca

Spain's Marca saw a fight between two friends get out of hand, with both blaming each other. "Verstappen survived the accident and the 10-second penalty for pushing Lando off the track, he changed his tyres, and finished the race fifth. So despite biting the dust for the first time in a long time, he leaves Spielberg leading the World Championship."

"Max is not immortal, but you have to kill him three times to ground him, and even then he continues. There is no title fight, but there is a spectacle, and, above all, it is not always the same person who wins, although that is almost always the case in other sports," the newspaper concludes.

HLN

"You could just wait for it, because it had to happen sometime. Two friends fighting for the championship, that's going to go wrong one day. And that happened in Austria after a heated fight that lasted for laps," writes Belgian HLN, which saw Norris make many failed overtaking attempts on Verstappen.

"At the fourth attempt it went all wrong. Where Norris had been complaining for minutes about the 'life-threatening' Verstappen who kept moving under braking and Verstappen accused Norris of 'divebombing' on the inside, the two collided after 64 laps. Both punctured, both ready for the day's victory. Norris even had to retire, Verstappen still finished fifth. If this is the prelude to the rest of the season that is still over five months away, Formula 1 has another great battle ahead."

This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy