Sao Paulo Grand Prix: George Russell beats Lewis Hamilton to first full Formula 1 win

Hamilton was involved in an early race collision with champion Verstappen

George Russell took a maiden grand prix victory – and a first for Mercedes in 2022 – as Max Verstappen was penalised for a collision with Lewis Hamilton in Sao Paulo.

Russell was in control of the race throughout after Verstappen and Hamilton crashed together disputing second place in the early stages at a safety car restart.

Hamilton dropped to eighth place after the collision with his 2021 title rival but came back to secure a Mercedes one-two and seal the team’s recovery after a difficult season that the eight-time champions started with an uncompetitive car.

Russell’s accomplished drive included him surviving a late safety car that bunched up the field and put Hamilton right behind him heading into the final 10 laps.

The Mercedes drivers were told that they were allowed to race but Russell held the lead at the restart and kept Hamilton at bay until the end.

Behind them, the final 10 laps were a frantic fight as a number of drivers who had had difficult races revived their afternoons.

Among them were Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – who had been barged off the track by McLaren’s Lando Norris at Turn Five shortly after the Verstappen-Hamilton incident and dropped to the back – and Verstappen himself.

The presence of Ayrton Senna will always be strong in Sao Paulo

Leclerc was sixth at the restart but moved up to finish fourth behind his Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz, as both passed the fading Red Bull of Sergio Perez.

Alpine’s Fernando Alonso also overtook the Mexican to take a strong fifth place after starting 18th.

The late caution period also helped Verstappen move up from the bottom of the top 10 to sixth place, just failing to pass Alonso on a race to the line.

Verstappen was ordered by Red Bull to let Perez back past, after being allowed past a few laps earlier, but did not comply.

More to follow