George Russell claimed the first Grand Prix win of his Formula 1 career with a superbly controlled drive to victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

The Briton aced his getaway from pole and mastered two safety car restarts to grind out the win ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton, securing Mercedes’s first win of the year and first one-two finish since 2020.

ā€œThis is just the beginning,ā€ he radioed his team. ā€œI’m so proud of all of you. I knew we could do this.ā€

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George Russell is a winner at last in Formula 1, although the hard work is still to come on Sunday.

Russell followed Max Verstappen past pole-getter Kevin Magnussen early in the sprint to set up a private duel for first place in the 100-kilometre dash, and after biding his time, he began his siege on the lead.

Twice he tried around Verstappen’s outside at the first turn but was rebuffed.

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George Russell has won his first Formula 1 race after a thrilling duel with Max Verstappen for victory in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint.

Russell started third behind pole-getter Kevin Magnussen and Verstappen in second, but the Dutchman was the only driver among the frontrunners to start on the medium tire, giving him a grip disadvantage off the line.

The Briton attempted to take second from him immediately at the start, and again through the first lap, but was constantly rebuffed. By the start of the second lap, Verstappen’s yellow tires were up to temperature and he set his sights forward to the lead.

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Esteban Ocon beat Sergio Perez to top sport in final practice at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

It was a typically straightforward Saturday practice session on a sprint weekend, with parc fermƩ conditions in effect after qualifying on Friday. The focus was on assessing the endurance of the soft tire ahead of the 24-lap sprint race later today.

Ocon started the hour with nine laps on the medium tire, but the yellow compound found little favor among the drivers, and he subsequently switched to a 16-lap run on the soft compound.

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They say if you want excitement on track, just add water. But sometimes just the threat of wet weather is enough.

Rain has been on the forecast all weekend, and having dampened the track before the start of qualifying, it was looming large on the radar again as the top-10 shootout got underway.

It forced teams and drivers to do their best to harmonise the radar, the conditions in the pit lane and their gut instincts to make a decision on how to approach the make-or-break first minutes of the Q3.

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