Russell leads Mercedes 1-2 to take maiden win in Brazil

George Russell snatched his first Grand Prix win in Brazil, leading a 1-2 finish for Mercedes.

Mercedes claimed their first 1-2 finish since Imola in 2020, following a shock first pole position for Haas and Kevin Magnussen.

The Silver Arrows would win the Sprint and maintained their lead at the start before Daniel Ricciardo made contact with Magnussen, sending both out of the Grand Prix and bringing out the safety car.

At the restart, Max Verstappen tried to push past Hamilton, the two rivals making contact at turn two. The scrappy race continued, Lando Norris hitting the side of Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari flying into the barrier and somehow continuing.

While Verstappen would be handed a five second penalty for the incident after pitting for a new wing, Hamilton would continue on, charging back into the top-four by lap 15.

At the front, it was George Russell who lead Sergio Perez, while Hamilton charged on behind, Verstappen being handed a five-second penalty for the crash at turn two.

The Brit would eventually reach the back of Perez’s Red Bull, storming into second on lap 45 to reestablish Mercedes’ 1-2 finish. Perez would respond by stopping on lap 48, the final stop of his race.

However, surprisingly, Hamilton would stop once again to cover off Red Bull’s strategy, with Hamilton telling his team that his tyres were fine. Russell would follow, retaining the lead.

With 18 laps left, Norris’ McLaren ground to a halt, bringing out the safety car once again. Mercedes were caught off guard, with Perez and Carlos Sainz pitting for fresh tyres.

Following their crash in the Sprint, Esteban Ocon was given strict instructions by Alpine not to fight Fernando Alonso, the Frenchman saying he would focus on Sebastian Vettel ahead.

The race went green and Mercedes darted, Russell flying away with his teammate while Red Bull and Ferrari squabbled for third. But Hamilton could not find enough pace to beat Russell, the young Brit winning in Sao Paulo after a thrilling affair.

Following the race, Russell told Felipe Massa:

“What an amazing feeling, a huge thank you to the whole team for making this possible. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster this season, this race was a really tough race.

“I felt in control, Lewis was super fast and then when I saw the safety car, I thought ‘this is going to be a really difficult end’ and it put me under so much pressure.”

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