George Russell claimed his maiden F1 victory at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as Mercedes sealed a one-two at Interlagos; the Silver Arrows improved late-season form has lifted hope that they can challenge Red Bull for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships in 2023
Last Updated: 15/11/22 6:06am
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George Russell wins his first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix holding off Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton to win in Sao Paulo.
Lewis Hamilton says he is confident that he and team-mate George Russell will be able to maintain a strong working relationship next season, even if Mercedes are back in title contention.
Russell, 24, has impressed in his debut season with Mercedes, claiming his maiden Grand Prix victory – and the team’s first of the 2022 season – in Sao Paulo on Sunday to move 25 points clear of seven-time world champion Hamilton in the world championship with just the season finale in Abu Dhabi remaining.
However, the fact that Mercedes have rarely been in contention for race victories and have spent much of the campaign working to close the gap to constructors’ champions Red Bull, has ensured a lack of tension and the avoidance of contentious situations for team principal Toto Wolff to deal with.
“I’m a lot older and I’ve been with the team so long,” Hamilton said before finishing second to Russell in Brazil.
“So managing whatever challenges we come up with moving forward, we’ve been through so much that I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”
Hamilton also said that Russell’s debut campaign with the team has been “impressive”, but that it was “super easy” for him to blend in having long been a part of the Mercedes setup, even during his three seasons with Williams.
Unless he wins in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton will end a season without a victory for the first time in his F1 career.
“I’ve seen what he did at Williams,” Hamilton said. “I think naturally you have to say it’s impressive what he’s done this year, the consistency he’s had, how he’s arrived and just hit the ground running.
“It’s not like he arrived in a completely brand new team. The previous couple of years he was sitting right behind me watching the work that I was doing with the engineers, with Ricky (who), who is now his number one.
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Lewis Hamilton recovered brilliantly from a collision with Max Verstappen to secure a Mercedes one-two at the Sao Paulo GP!
“It’s been super easy to blend in. He uses my steering wheel, and he’s obviously got to do the test days prior to the year, so I think he’s just blended in perfectly and he’s been a positive force in the team.
“He’s helped keep the equilibrium in the team, in terms of the working relationship I think it’s strong.”