Russell 'speechless' after clinching first GP victory
George Russell was jubilant after claiming his first ever Grand Prix race victory on Sunday in the Brazilian...
The post Russell 'speechless' after clinching first GP victory appeared first on F1i.com.
George Russell was jubilant after claiming his first ever Grand Prix race victory on Sunday in the Brazilian Grand Prix, leading team mate Lewis Hamilton across the line in a Mercedes 1-2.
It's the squad's first win in a year, having struggled with early problems with this year's W13 car.
While they had been getting better by the race in recent weeks, it looked like they would run out of time to get back to winning ways before the end of 2022 in the face of the dominating form or Red Bull and Max Verstappen.
But Russell took a break-through victory in Saturday's sprint race that put him on pole in Sao Paulo, and he put in a peerless performance in the GP.
“What an amazing feeling," said Russell, who was overwhelmed when he arrived back into parc ferme after the chequered flag and had to wipe away a few happy tears before heading to the podium.
"Just a huge thank you to the whole team for making this possible. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster this season, this race.
Although Russell looked serene all afternoon, controlling the race and calling the shots from the cockpit, he insisted that it had actually been "really tough".
Russell executed a perfect start to get into turn 1 ahead of Hamilton, and did it again after a safety car was scrambled for the clash between Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen.
He then pulled out a comfortable lead that put him seven seconds ahead of the field - only to have it wiped out when a second safety car for Lando Norris' retirement meant the field was packed together.
Russell knew he would have to hold off Hamilton at the restart, with no team orders in operation other than to 'be respectful'.
"I felt in control," he said. "Lewis was super-fast, and when I saw the safety Car, I thought, ‘Oh Jesus, this is going to be a really difficult end.’ He put me under so much pressure. But so happy to come away with the victory!
“I’m speechless," he said, before explaining some of the factors behing his emotional reaction to the win. "On the in-lap all of these memories sort of came flooding back.
"Starting off with my mum and dad in go karting and going through all the support I’ve had from the rest of my family, my girlfriend, my trainer, my manager.
“Then obviously the likes of Gwen [Lagrue] who gave me the opportunity to get on the programme with Mercedes, and James Vowles and Toto [Wolff]. The list is endless. I can’t thank them enough. Super proud.”
Team principal Toto Wolff revealed afterwards that Russell's car had been suffering a water leak in the race - something he kept from the driver.
"It wasn’t clear whether we could actually make it to the end,” he told media from the team's headquarters Brackley, from where he was remote woking this weekend.
"We talked about it on the intercom and we all agreed we’re going to let him drive to the end even without water, on whatever was there to cool it and just try to finish the race.”
Although this was the probably the best, last chance Hamilton had to continue his record of winning a race in every season since his debut in 2007, the seven time champion was quick to give his young comrade warm praise.
"I've got to say huge congratulations to George. What an amazing drive he did today," he said. "He did an amazing qualifying yesterday, so he truly deserves it.
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The post Russell 'speechless' after clinching first GP victory appeared first on F1i.com.