Italian media offers Verstappen praise: 'Moses conquered the Red Sea in Mexico'

Max Verstappen's dominance in 2023 continued at the Mexico City Grand Prix, when he took his 16th win of the season with Red Bull.

The 26 year-old Dutchman also equalled four-time Formula 1 World Champion Alan Prost's win tally of 51 career victories.

"Dressed as Moses, the Red Sea opened up for Max Verstappen at the start of the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Mexico," wrote Italy's largest sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Where Verstappen is still chatting leisurely before the race about PSV's victory over Ajax, Ferrari squanders everything at the start."

It comes after Charles Leclerc started from pole alongside team-mate Carlos Sainz, however, Ferrari was unable to convert another front row into a race win, with Leclerc's run of not converting a pole into a win stretching back to the 2022 Australian Grand Prix.

"With the Mexican Halloween party comes candy, but despite a podium for Charles Leclerc, Ferrari didn't get the sweetness it was hoping for," they added.

The media was less enthusiastic about Sergio Perez, who crashed out on the opening lap of his home race: "A poor performance, this to the disappointment of the home crowd. He acted as if Leclerc didn't exist, but fortunately, it didn't cost Leclerc very dearly."

Autosprint noted that the race got entertaining when Kevin Magnussen's heavy crash produced a red flag, but that it did not diminish Verstappen's performance: "Again it was he who ruled. Not only did he beat all the other drivers, but also the record books with the most wins in a single F1 season. Perez, meanwhile, took too much risk and drove himself out of the race."

Corriere della Sera added the race was a "disaster" for Perez. In the newspaper's eyes, the Mexican GP sums up his entire season: "Perez had to give up and Ferrari fell back. With that, Ferrari's illusion lasted only briefly. The show was there on Saturday, but not on Sunday."