Russell becomes F1 grand prix winner in Brazil

George Russell has become a Formula 1 grand prix winner after leading a Mercedes one-two in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Russell enjoyed a strong race throughout while Lewis Hamilton recovered from an early clash with Max Verstappen for which the Red Bull driver was penalised.

Carlos Sainz rounded out the podium ahead of Charles Leclerc, who was involved in an early clash with Lando Norris.

Russell jumped well as the lights went out, enjoying a clear advantage over Hamilton into the opening turn, the two Red Bulls falling in behind.

Contact from Daniel Ricciardo with Kevin Magnussen triggered an early Safety Car midway around the lap.

The Australian had tapped the rear of the Haas which spun before rolling backwards and making contact with the McLaren, eliminating both on the spot.

Ricciardo offered his immediate apologies, while Stewards took notice of the clash.

Racing resumed as the field started Lap 7, Russell accelerating late to safeguard his lead on the long front straight.

Hamilton defended into the opening corner from Verstappen, the pair making contact and dropping down the order as they ran off the road at Turn 2.

Half a lap later, Norris and Leclerc made contact, sending the Ferrari off the road.

Verstappen pitted for a replacement front wing while Hamilton carried on running in eighth.

The Dutchman complained he’d been left no space, with officials noting the incident, as they also did the Norris/Sainz clash.

Hamilton quickly began to move forward once more, passing Pierre Gasly into Turn 1 as they started Lap 10.

Having investigated the two clashes following the Safety Car, both Verstappen and Norris received five-second penalties for their respective incidents.

Sainz was the first of the leaders to stop on Lap 19, taking on a set of soft tyres having started the race on the medium rubber.

He dropped out behind Alex Albon in 12th, quickly going around the outside of the Williams to move up to 11th.

Leclerc pitted on Lap 23, his second stop having previously been in the lane after being turned around by Norris.

On Lap 25, Perez pitted from second, taking a fresh set of medium tyres. He fed out in traffic, just behind Valtteri Bottas in sixth.

The Finn was in no mood to make the job easy for the Red Bull driver, boosting Russell’s chances of maintaining the race lead following his own stop.

That’s precisely what happened, the Mercedes driver rejoining alongside Sebastian Vettel but able to maintain the advantage into Turn 4 in second on the road.

Hamilton assumed the race lead until he stopped at the end of Lap 30, taking on a set of medium tyres.

His long opening stint suggested Mercedes was looking to send him to the chequered flag without visiting the pits again.

Following the pit stop sequence, Russell held a 5.4s advantage over Perez, with Sainz 3.5s further back and Hamilton 12.8s away from the lead in fourth.

Sainz took his second stop on Lap 38, fitting a set of medium tyres.

He’d had to stop earlier after a tear-off got stuck in a rear brake duct, leaving him out of sequence with those he was racing.

By Lap 44, Hamilton had caught Perez and looked to make a move into Turn 4.

The Mexican defended, as he did again into Turn 10, though he was helpless down the front straight once DRS entered the equation.

Perez boxed after 47 laps, a 2.3s stationary time left him in clean air and a clear fourth position.

Mercedes pitted Hamilton next time by, moving on to the soft tyres despite protesting that his “tyres were good.”

It was a move to cover off the potential undercut threat posed by Perez, leaving him third on the road behind Sainz.

Russell took his second stop on Lap 50, taking a set of soft tyres to maintain the race lead as he exited the lap.

A problem for Norris saw the McLaren roll to a halt on Lap 52, the car stuck exiting Turn 10.

The Virtual Safety Car was deployed to cover the car as the Brit climbed out.

Ferrari took the opportunity to stop Sainz, swapping the Spaniard onto the soft compound tyre and dropping him to fourth.

The full Safety Car was deployed soon after as officials worked to clear the McLaren, which was left in an awkward place.

An apparent mistake from Race Control allowed both Williams to unlap themselves, but not Yuki Tsunoda who was left stranded in the middle of the pack.

The race restarted on Lap 60, Russell heading Hamilton from Perez and Sainz, the Ferrari driver launching an attack into Turn 4 but unable to find a way through.

Leclerc quickly put a move on Bottas, who had been fifth, to take that spot and put him in a position to challenge for the final podium place.

Perez didn’t have the pace of the two Mercedes ahead, Russell 0.9s clear of his team-mate as they crossed the line at the end of the first restart lap and both well clear of the Red Bull who was instead looking to defend.

There was nearly contact in the battle for third around Turn 3, Sainz looking to go the long way around only to run out of road and having to back out.

On Lap 63, the Ferrari found a way through into Turn 4, Leclerc quickly latching on the back of the Red Bull.

At Turn 1 next time around, he was also through into fourth as Perez came under the attention of Fernando Alonso.

The Alpine made short work of the Mexican, easing by on Lap 65 as they headed down the back straight.

Verstappen was then released by Red Bull to pass his team-mate, instructed to chase down and pass both Alonso and Leclerc ahead despite there being just five laps remaining.

He was unable to do so, but refused to hand the place back when asked.

Meanwhile, Russell became a grand prix winner, heading team-mate Hamilton by 1.5s in the first Mercedes one-two for more than two years.

Sainz held on to third from Leclerc with Alonso fifth. Verstappen was sixth ahead of Perez with Ocon eighth, then Bottas and Lance Stroll to round out the top 10.

Russell’s grand prix success comes a day after he was the winner of the F1 Sprint, entitling him to first place on the grid for the race proper.

Results: Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

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