George Russell scored his first-ever Formula 1 victory after fending off Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton at the Sao Paulo GP. With this, Mercedes have also picked up a long-awaited first win this season.
Joining the Mercedes duo on the podium was Carlos Sainz, as Ferrari finished third and fourth in the action-packed race.
- Russell wins, 1.529 secs ahead of Hamilton
- Ricciardo handed three-place grid drop for Abu Dhabi
Russell takes maiden F1 victory
Russell started ahead of the pack after winning the sprint race. He held on to that lead after a good getaway at the start, but the Safety Car was soon brought out as Daniel Ricciardo tapped Kevin Magnussen into a spin, ending both drivers’ races early on. As a result, Ricciardo has been handed a three-place grid drop for the Abu Dhabi GP, which will be his final race with McLaren.
Lap 7 saw two big incidents as Max Verstappen and Hamilton made contact, while Lando Norris sent Charles Leclerc into the barriers. Verstappen and Norris were given five-second penalties for the incidents.
While Verstappen had to pit for a new front wing – Red Bull pulled off the pit stop in a swift 10 seconds – Hamilton carried on with minimal damage and had soon climbed up to the third place, behind Russell and Sergio Perez. By lap 44, Hamilton had caught up to Perez and passed him for second place.
Just as all the leaders had completed their second set of pit stops, Lando Norris stopped his McLaren at the exit of Turn 10 after reporting a loss of power. The Virtual Safety Car was initially deployed, but the Safety Car was brought out soon after as marshals cleared the McLaren.
Russell aced the restart and managed to stay out of DRS distance from Hamilton for the remaining laps. He crossed the line, 1.529 seconds clear, to take his maiden F1 win, nearly two years after he was denied the chance to do so in the 2020 Sakhir GP.
"What an amazing feeling," Russell said. "A really tough race. I felt in control, Lewis was super fast and when I saw the Safety Car, I thought, 'Oh Jesus, this is going to be a really difficult end', and he put me under so much pressure – but [I'm] so happy to come away with the victory."
Drama in the Red Bull camp
Perez dropped down in the order as he struggled on medium tyres and soon found himself just ahead of teammate Verstappen, who had worked his way up from P17. While Verstappen has already wrapped up the championship, Perez is currently battling Leclerc for second place in the overall standings. Red Bull told Verstappen that he was clear to pass Perez, on the provision that he’d give the place back if he couldn’t overtake Alonso and Leclerc.
Verstappen closed in within DRS range of Alonso but was unable to find a way past. On the final lap, Red Bull instructed him to swap places with Perez, but the two-time world champion opted to stay put, saying, “I told you already, you guys, don’t ask that again to me – are we clear about that? I gave my reasons, and I stand by it.”
Perez ended up finishing seventh, ahead of Esteban Ocon, who passed Valtteri Bottas in the closing stages. Lance Stroll rounded out the top 10.
There’s just one more race left for the 2022 F1 season, with the Abu Dhabi GP finale on November 18-20.