First GP win for George Russell – ahead of Lewis Hamilton

The double success in the Brazilian Grand Prix nourishes Mercedes’ hope for a turnaround. At the season finale next weekend, the Silver Arrows could push Ferrari out of second place in the Constructors’ Championship.

A rare picture this season: two Mercedes cars at the front of a Formula 1 race.

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It was the penultimate chance of the year to polish up the silverware of Mercedes. And it shines like never before this season after the Brazilian Grand Prix: George Russell won the Grand Prix in Interlagos ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The penultimate World Championship race showed that the fighting power of the stumbled record-breaking Mercedes team is unbroken. Third was Carlos Sainz junior in the Ferrari, which ended the Red Bull winning streak. World champion Max Verstappen finished sixth ahead of Sergio Pérez. At the season finale next weekend in Abu Dhabi, the Silver Arrow faction is now concerned with ousting Ferrari from second place in the Constructors’ Championship – the gap is currently 19 points.

When an entertaining race was completely open again after a safety car phase with twelve laps to go, leader Russell, who had already won the sprint race on Saturday, asked Hamilton in the rear-view mirror: “Can we race, right? do we secure the positions?” The sovereign answer from the pits: “Drive against each other, but remain respectful.”

Hamilton, who had driven back to the front after an early bump from Verstappen with a damaged underbody, was no longer able to catch up with his compatriot after a great race to catch up. Russell, who completed his first season in the works team at the age of 24, routinely drove towards his first Formula 1 victory at the 81st start. When he reached the finish, he cried with joy, after the race he was speechless with pride. The anthem “God Save The King” was played for him for the first time.

But to finish second after a completely messed up start to the season – that would be a consolation prize for Mercedes, like the small final at the World Cup. In this case it would also be a defiance price. Lewis Hamilton is willing to take on this fight – for the whole team. Because if they came second, all employees in Central England would receive a significantly higher bonus. Hamilton also sees himself as a mentor to Russell and that eases some of the pain of having narrowly missed out on his first win of the season for the third straight season. Hamilton had never gone a whole year without a win in his Formula 1 career. It remains to be seen whether the hierarchy at Mercedes will be new after this season.

The turnaround was made possible by a technical upgrade in Austin at the end of October. It was high time for this, as the debutant Russell also found: “We were in the void.” Thanks to the stabilization of the car and the resulting significantly better use of tires, there are now opportunities not only in the last race of the season, but above all in the new season. Russell said: “I am very confident that we are on the right path to where Mercedes belongs.” Hamilton also spoke of a big step, but is not sure whether his own increase in performance was a little clearer because the others were a little weaker. But it is crucial that Mercedes has freed itself from reverse gear on its own and that the winning mentality is still there in the team.

Mercedes’ lack of success this season was based on the stubbornness with which the ensemble went about their business. The draft for the major change in the rules was too daring and too futuristic, and the effects on the driving behavior of the racing car were too bitchy. A Mercedes that hops – that was the definitive moose test on the racetrack. All season long the team has grappled with the effects of the phenomenon known as ‘bouncing’ while rival Red Bull Racing happily developed their car for the future.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff, who was absent in São Paulo, spoke of ten months of lost development time. “It doesn’t hurt us. But each of us is angry,” said the Austrian, “we are angry with ourselves and that we made the wrong decisions. But we are learning more from this season than from the last eight years.” Also about himself. After the triumph in South America, the chief engineer Andrew Shovlin spoke of the great belief in himself, which must be preserved over the racing winter and carried into the new season.

In the course of internal traffic calming, record champion Hamilton sacrificed his season and made a name for himself as a strong team captain. The Brit, who will soon be 38, was quite annoyed at times, but has rediscovered his passion for sport and is openly talking about a pension contract. His current contract runs until the end of 2023. “The question is not whether we will extend it, but when. I still don’t feel like I’ve reached the end of my career.”

Formula 1. Sao Paulo. Brazilian Grand Prix. Sprint (71 laps of 4.309 km / 305.879 km): 1. George Russell (GBR), Mercedes, 1:38:34.044 (186.194 km/h). 2. Lewis Hamilton (GBR), Mercedes, 1.529 back. 3. Carlos Sainz (ESP), Ferrari, 4.051. 4. Charles Leclerc (MON), Ferrari, 8.441. 5. Fernando Alonso (ESP), Alpine-Renault, 9.561. 6. Max Verstappen (NED), Red Bull-Honda, 10,056. 7. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull-Honda, 14,080. 8. Esteban Ocon (FRA), Alpine-Renault, 18.690. 9. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, 22.552. 10. Lance Stroll (CAN), Aston Martin-Mercedes, 23.552. 11. Sebastian Vettel (GER), Aston Martin-Mercedes, 26.183. 12. Zhou Guanyu (CHN), Alfa Romeo-Ferrari, 29.325. 13. Mick Schumacher (GER), Haas-Ferrari, 29.899. 14.* Pierre Gasly (FRA), AlphaTauri-Honda, 31.867. 15. Alexander Albon (THA), Williams-Mercedes, 36.016. 16. Nicholas Latifi (CAN), Williams-Mercedes, 37.038. 17th one lap behind: Yuki Tsunoda (JPN), AlphaTauri-Honda. * = 5 seconds added to the driving time (speed limit exceeded in the pit lane). – 20 drivers started, 17 classified and at the finish. – Fastest lap: Russell (61st) with 1: 13.785 (210.237 km / h). – failures: Kevin Magnussen (DEN), Haas-Ferrari (1st lap / grid position 8): collision with Ricciardo; Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren-Mercedes (1st/11): self-inflicted collision with Magnussen; Lando Norris (GBR), McLaren-Mercedes (51st lap / 12th place): Transmission.

World Championship standings (21/22 plus sprints in Imola, Spielberg and São Paulo). Driver: 1. Verstappen 429 (World Champion/5)*. 2. Perez 290 (3)*. 3. Leclerc 290 (3)*. 4. Russell 265 (3)*. 5.Hamilton 240 (2)*. 6. Sainz 234 (2)*. 7. Norris 113 (1)*. 8 Ocon 86 9 Alonso 81 10 Bottas 49 11 Vettel 36 12 Ricciardo 35 13 Magnussen 25 14 Gasly 23 15 Stroll 14 16 Schumacher 12 17 Tsunoda 12 18 Zhou 6 19 Albon 4 20 Latifi 2 21 Nyck De Vries (NED), Williams-Mercedes 2 – Teams: 1. Red Bull Honda 719 (8)*. 2. Ferrari 524 (5)*. 3.Mercedes 505 (5)*. 4. Alpine-Renault 167. 5. McLaren-Mercedes 148 (1)*. 6th Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 55th 7th Aston Martin-Mercedes 50th 8th Haas-Ferrari 37th 9th AlphaTauri-Honda 35th 10th Williams-Mercedes 8th – * 1 extra point for the fastest lap in the Grands Prix ( if placed in the top ten).

Last race of the season: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi on November 20th.


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