The silver arrows managed a 1-2 finish for the first time since the 2020 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton finished P2 and George Russell was P1.
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The 2022 Brazilian Grand Prix was an important milestone in the career of Mercedes driver George Russell who won his first ever Formula One race. The silver arrows managed a 1-2 finish for the first time since the 2020 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton came home in P2, one and a half seconds behind his teammate. The Ferrari duo of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finished P3 and P4 respectively with Fernando Alonso grabbing a vital P5 for Alpine. It was a tough day at the office for Red Bull Racing as Max Verstappen finished P6 ahead of Sergio Perez in P7. There was trouble between the teammates as Verstappen was asked to let Perez by in the closing stages of the race which he flat out refused on the team radio.
Rife with contacts and safety cars, the race at Interlagos on Sunday was one of the most entertaining ones of this season. So without further ado, there are the five talking points from the 2022 Brazilian GP.
It is no secret that George Russell has been one of the most talented drivers on the grid ever since he made his debut in Formula One. The Brit almost won his first ever race for Mercedes in Bahrain two years ago when he was asked to step in as a replacement for Lewis Hamilton. Even during his time at Williams, Russell’s superb driving ability saw him earn some valuable points for the team. It took a while for Russell to win with Mercedes in 2022 but the Brit has put in consistent performances throughout the season.
His win in Sao Paolo on Sunday is testament to just how good he really is. On the third restart of the race, Russell had to contend with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Carlos Sainz, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez behind him. However, the Brit held his nerve and was as cool as a cucumber, only asking updates about the pace and gap behind him as he whooshed past the checkered flag. “This is just the beginning,” he said on the team radio after the win, and in all probability, Mercedes have a gem on their hands.
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Let’s face it, 2022 has been a season of more downs than ups for Mercedes. The new technical regulations seemed to hit the silver arrows the hardest as they found themselves struggling at every single race during the first half of the season. The German constructor turned it around after the summer break, delivering a string on consistent performances but they still weren’t the Mercedes fans remember. Months of hard work led to the Brazilian GP where it finally paid off. The team got their first victory of the season and their first 1-2 in over two years. Hopefully, the eight-time constructor’s champions will be at their absolute best next season.
No one really understood why world champion Max Verstappen refused to let Sergio Perez by during the closing stages of the race. Perez would have had the lead over Leclerc for P2 in the driver’s championship had that been the case. However, when the team asked Max, who had already won the championship and was not even in contention for a podium, let his teammate by, he flat out refused. “You know my reasons,” he said at the time.
Perez was visibly disappointed and there really isn’t anyone who can blame him after everything he has done for Max. “Yeah, thank you for that guys. Thank you. This shows who he really is,” he said on the team radio after the race. There will definitely be discussions at Red Bull over the matter and it would not be surprising if Checo did show Max how hard of a racer he really is at the season ending Abu Dhabi GP.
Ferrari have had a topsy turvy season but Sunday’s race was one the team could be happy about. Both Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc delivered on track with the Spaniard finishing P3 and the Monegasque in P4. Leclerc had a coming together with Lando Norris on lap 7 of the race which saw him slam into the barriers. However, he was able to recover his car and drive into the pits, after which he not only finished the race, but managed to get fourth place. Leclerc was pleading with the team to let his past Carlos as it would improve his chances of clinching P2 in the driver’s championship, but Sainz was on course for a podium and it was a good decision by Ferrari to let the Spaniard have a well-deserved third place finish.
While last season saw the two championship protagonists heading into the last race level on points, this season the situation is similar for the runners-up. Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc are level with 290 points a-piece as they head into the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP. Both drivers have had their highs and lows throughout the course of the season and it will be fascinating to see who comes out on top at the end of it all.
