Max Verstappen was crowned the king of Imola in 2022 as he scored his second career Grand Slam, this time in Tifosi territory. Ferrari left their fans heading home with tails between their legs after the team scored just six points on race day and suffered another retirement. Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, finished outside the points in his "undriveable" Mercedes car, with boss Toto Wolff apologising to the seven-time World Champion. His teammate George Russell, meanwhile, finished fourth. Here's how the media from Germany, Italy, the UK and Miami, which will host the next instalment of F1 action, reacted to the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Italy grieves Ferrari failure at Imola
In Italy, Ferrari's failure proved a bitter pill to swallow. Sainz's retirement was a nightmare start, while Leclerc's late-race crash ended a disappointing weekend on a sorry note. Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport branded Verstappen a worthy winner, writing that it was "Red Bull's dominance and Ferrari's first real crash of the season". "It is a very hard reality to accept for the Torcida Rossa from Imola, who dreamed of a completely different Emilia Romagna GP," their report continued. "Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, however, raised the Milton Keynes team right at the home of their direct rivals and snatched a smile from the 64,000 fans in the stands, anxious for a triumph for the Cavallino, crippled by misfortunes and errors."
"It made for a nightmare race for Ferrari"
In the UK, the BBC wrote: "The fact the error happened at Ferrari's home race, in front of a packed crowd of their passionate Italian Tifosi, will have made it feel even worse, especially as Leclerc had emphasised before the weekend the need 'to not overdo things' with expectations so high at Imola. "It made for a nightmare race for Ferrari, who had lost Leclerc's team-mate Carlos Sainz on the first lap when the Spaniard was tipped into the gravel by McLaren's Daniel Ricciardo." The BBC also drew attention to Hamilton's poor weekend, after he crossed the line down in 14th on race day, blaming a lack of straight-line speed. "Unlike Russell, Hamilton was unable to make up ground at the start and his race soon fell into a dispiriting pattern," they continued. "The Mercedes' lack of straight-line speed meant he could not pass Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, as he trailed around in 12th place in the opening stages."
German media take aim at Ferrari; express shock at Hamilton's result
Despite a fine day for Sebastian Vettel at Imola, as he scored his first points of the season, it was Hamilton and his Mercedes car hogging the headlines in Germany. BILD led with the headline 'Hamilton Humiliation' after the 37-year-old counted himself out of the title race. They opted against hammering Ferrari for their poor weekend and instead praised the team for finally showing competitive pace during a home event. It comes after the outlet replaced Ferrari's prancing horse with a donkey during Vettel's failed years with the team. Now they write: "Ferrari is galloping again and can proudly wear their horse again!"
The view from Miami, ahead of its inaugural race
F1 will next head to Miami, with fans in the United States hoping to see the battle between Verstappen and Leclerc continue in Florida. The Miami Herald has had its eyes fixed on the F1 season throughout the build-up to the 2022 Miami Grand Prix and described Ferrari's defeat to Red Bull on home soil as an embarrassment. "Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen dominated Sunday in a Red Bull rout of Ferrari at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, much to the dismay of the sea of red-clad Tifosi," they wrote.
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