MOTORSPORT: Russell breaks through in Brazilian F1 GP

George Russell has broken through for his maiden Formula 1 win after dominating the Brazilian Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace this morning, while the opening of the race saw a contentious collision between perpetual rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, from which the champ-elect was ruled at fault.

After finishing qualifying in the gravel trap, Russell won the F1 sprint race and then led throughout the main race to register his first victory from 81 starts, after earning seven podium finishes earlier in the year.

“What an amazing feeling. Just a huge thank you to the whole team for making this possible,” said Russell.

“It’s been an emotional rollercoaster this season. This race was a really tough race.

“I felt in control. Lewis was super fast and when I saw the safety car, I thought geez this is going to be a difficult end and he put me under so much pressure, but I am so happy to come away with the victory.”

Earlier in the weekend, Kevin Magnussen scored a surprise pole position for Haas, after the weather-impacted Q3 was interrupted by Russell’s off-track moment.

With the Sprint format back in action, Magnussen led the opening circuit before Verstappen (Red Bull) pounced at the opening turn.

The curtain raiser featured some of the best battles of the season to date, including for the lead between Verstappen and Russell, with the Brit gaining the upper hand on lap 15 of 24.

On lap 19, Sainz forged past Verstappen, with damage to the front wing of the Red Bull hindering the charge of the Dutchman, as Lance Stroll earned a 10sec penalty for running his Aston Martin teammate Sebastian Vettel off the road.

Russell ultimately claimed the win from Sainz, Hamilton (Mercedes), who started eighth, then Verstappen, Sergio Perez (Red Bull), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Lando Norris (McLaren), with Magnussen rounding out the point scorers in eighth.

Russell led away from the Sunday race start, however, the safety car was quickly on the track when Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) tangled and were eliminated from proceedings.

Upon the restart, Verstappen and Hamilton came to blows at the second turn, while later in the lap, Norris came into contact with Leclerc, who spun off into the barriers but was able to limp back to the pits.

Somewhat controversially, Verstappen was assessed a 5sec penalty, while the same sanction was applied to Norris.

Vettel made it by Norris for fifth on lap 17 of 71, while a lap later Sainz made an early trip to the pits with a tear off stuck in his rear brake duct.

The first round of pit stops concluded when Hamilton boxed on lap 30, with the running order seeing Russell lead from Perez, Sainz, Hamilton and Fernando Alonso (Alpine).

On lap 45, Hamilton surged past Perez to claim second position, while on lap 52, Norris stopped on circuit, necessitating a virtual safety car, with key protagonists Alonso and Sainz pitting.

The recovery escalated into a full safety car on lap 55, with the restart five laps later seeing Russell continue to lead from Hamilton and Perez, who quickly came under fire from the Ferrari duo of Sainz and Leclerc, with the Mexican dropping places on both laps 63 and 64.

Struggling on the harder medium compound tyre, a lap later he also lost out to Alonso for fifth, while on the 67th circuit, Verstappen moved by his teammate for sixth.

Russell was first home from Hamilton, then Sainz, Leclerc, Alonso and Verstappen, who ignored team orders by not giving his position back to Perez at the finish, who was classified in seventh.

Rounding out the top 10 were Esteban Ocon (Alpine), Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) and Stroll.

The Formula 1 season concludes next weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from the Yas Marina Circuit.

2022 Brazilian Grand Prix results:

2022 Formula 1 championship standings:

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