Grand Prix Winner George Russell: ” It’s been an emotional rollercoaster”

The 2022 FIA Formula 1 season’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix saw George Russell take his first ever Grand Prix win in his career and Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team’s first of the season.

Russell took a commanding win after starting from pole following Saturday’s impressive win in the sprint race. It was a dominant and mature performance from the Brit, who led throughout and only looked under pressure late on from his team-mate after a safety car. It marks a first win for Russell, who has been close on a few occasions most notably in Sakhir in 2020, when he stepped in for Lewis Hamilton after he missed the race with COVID, but multiple issues that day saw him lose out but today will be one the Kings Lynn-born driver will remember for the rest of his life.

It was fair to say that Russell was ecstatic with his first victory, and a one-two for the team.

“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. I felt in control, Lewis was super-fast and then when I saw the safety car, I thought this is going to be a difficult end. He put me under so much pressure. But I’m so happy to come away with the victory.“

It was a big moment in history, as the podium presentation saw God Save The King being played for the first time in Formula 1. Russell has come a long way to this moment, and he spoke about his appreciation to everyone that helped him along the way.

“On the in-lap, all of these memories came flooding back, starting off with my Mum and Dad in go Karting, going through and all the support I’ve had from the rest of my family, my girlfriend, my trainer, my manager.

“The likes of Gwen, who first gave me the opportunity to get on the programme with Mercedes, and James Vowles and Toto. I can’t thank everyone enough.”

Lewis Hamilton: “I’m so proud of everyone back at the factory and here”

Hamilton had a much more eventful race, with an incident in the first few laps with Max Verstappen and multiple overtakes to get back into second position.

The seven-time world champion started second on the grid, after an impressive sprint performance on Saturday and kept his position going into turn one holding off Verstappen and Sergio Perez, whilst also protecting his team-mate. An early safety car restart saw Hamilton collide with Verstappen, costing the Dutchman a front wing and time due to a five-second time penalty, and whilst Hamilton lost a few positions he came out the better of the two drivers.

Hamilton made a number of key overtakes and a clever strategy saw him fall into place behind his team-mate Russell, before another late safety car. Despite pressure, he was unable to get close enough to Russell, who took his first race victory in Formula 1.

“I have to say huge congratulations to George, what an amazing drive he did today, he did an amazing job yesterday in the Sprint so he truly deserves it. To my Team, I’m so proud of everyone back at the factory and here.

“This is an incredible result – we’ve worked so hard through this year to get a 1-2, and to get a win. This is hugely, hugely deserved for everybody, so a big thank you to you all!”

Credit: Sonntag – LAT Images