Lando Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix, but you would barely know it from reading the international press. The story dominating Monday’s front pages is Max Verstappen finishing second in a Red Bull that, by all accounts, had no business being on the podium at all.
A Car Nobody Could Drive, A Result Nobody Expected
Verstappen himself admitted he still cannot quite explain how it happened. Both he and team-mate Isack Hadjar spent the weekend describing the car as undriveable, with issues across the gearbox, suspension and aerodynamics. As we covered after qualifying, Verstappen was furious after his Q3 spin, and the race barely improved the picture.
“I still don’t really understand how we finished second.” – Max Verstappen
Yet there he was, on the podium. Hadjar, who finished sixth in the same machinery, called the car equally impossible to manage. The full story of Verstappen’s baffled post-race reaction tells you everything about the scale of the overperformance.
The International Verdict: Pure Magic
Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport led with the headline: “Verstappen and that overtake on Hamilton: a masterpiece rewarded with P2.” The paper was unambiguous, calling him the strongest driver on the grid and noting that overtaking at the Hungaroring is nearly impossible for everyone except Verstappen. His lap 16 dive on Hamilton into Turn 1 was described as spectacular, decisive, and the kind of move only he pulls off.
France’s L’Equipe was equally effusive. The paper noted that Verstappen was furious on Friday and even angrier on Saturday, yet somehow conjured a podium through tyre management and that single, brilliant overtake. Holding 28 laps on the soft tyre at the end was described as no simple gamble, executed without a single error.
Germany’s BILD offered a sharper perspective, arguing that Ferrari handed Hamilton his fate. Leclerc’s poor start triggered a chain of events that left Hamilton unable to get past Verstappen, forcing Ferrari into an early strategy change that ultimately backfired. Combined with a five-second pit lane penalty, Hamilton’s podium evaporated entirely.
Norris Gets His Due, Hamilton Gets Questions
Britain’s The Guardian focused, quite reasonably, on Norris claiming his first win of the season from pole, 15 seconds clear of Verstappen at the flag. McLaren recorded their 14th win at the Hungaroring, a circuit record. Nobody is taking that away.
But Hamilton finished fourth, 50 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli, and is already questioning Ferrari’s strategy calls. The summer break, as The Guardian notes, arrives at just the right moment for a team that needs to think very hard about its decisions.
The Bigger Picture
Verstappen is now 19 points behind Norris in the standings and has four podiums without a single win. The press is warning rivals not to underestimate him. Given what he just produced in a car his own team-mate called undriveable, that warning feels entirely reasonable.
