George Russell is an F1 Race Winner - Recap: 2022 Brazilian GP
Kevin Magnussen shocked the paddock with a surprise pole position for Haas on Friday, then George Russell won the weekend.
This was the most exciting F1 weekend of the season so far. A shocking qualifying result Friday, the best sprint race yet Saturday, and Mercedes picked up their first win of the season Sunday.
Kevin Magnussen put in the fastest lap just before the rain came in Q3 (and George Russell caused a red flag) to pick up Haas’ first pole position ever in Qualifying. It was a thrilling moment for a team that rarely gets to celebrate more than a point or two. K Mag held the lead of the sprint race for one valiant lap before falling back behind the frontrunners.
The top three teams all had even pace for the first time all season and Mercedes showed up determined - finishing 1-2 in the sprint and locking out the front row for Sunday’s start.
George Russell outdueled Max Verstappen in the Sprint on Saturday in a great multi-lap battle.
Lewis Hamilton started P8 in the Sprint but managed to work all the way up the field in just 25 laps and pass Verstappen to finish P2.
Mercedes got off to a great start in Sunday’s race before Daniel Ricciardo hit Kevin Magnussen, causing the day’s first safety car.
On the first restart, Russell slowed the field to a near stop behind him before taking off, leaving his teammate Lewis Hamilton vulnerable to a challenge from Max Verstappen behind.
Max tried a move into Turn 1 but couldn’t make the pass. With Max just behind into Turn 2, Lewis closed the door, leaving Max only a foot or two of space on the track.
Never one to back down, Max sent it into the corner anyway and made contact with Lewis. Max fell to the back of the field with damage and Lewis fell back but kept running.
Max received a five-second penalty for causing a collision. At first, I thought this seemed like a “racing incident” and did not warrant the penalty. After review, it makes sense that the FIA wants to display a short leash with Max’s aggressive dives, especially when applying a penalty doesn’t affect the championship at all.
Russell built a comfortable lead as Hamilton worked his way back toward the front to set up the 1-2 finish for Mercedes.
Comfortably ahead near the end of the race, the two Mercedes seemed ready to race each other for the win after Lando Norris caused a late safety car due to engine failure. But George pulled away safely on the restart and managed to stay just out of DRS range.
It was encouraging to hear the Mercedes team give George and Lewis the go-ahead to race each other “respectfully”. Hopefully next year we see the two Mercedes fighting each other more often.
Ferrari finished 3-4 and beat both Red Bulls, but lost more ground to Mercedes in the team standings.
Charles Leclerc was sent into the wall and back in the standings after being spun out from behind by Lando Norris (who received a five-second penalty).
It was another impressive showing for the current F1 car - this time in terms of durability. Leclerc managed to continue racing despite making solid contact with the wall and worked his way back up the field to P4.
Ferrari retains a 19-point lead over Mercedes in the team standings with one race remaining.
Max Verstappen managed to recover all the way to P6 after his contact with Hamilton before causing a bit of drama of his own at the finish.
With Max having clinched the title, his teammate Sergio Perez asked that they switch positions so Sergio can improve his chances of finishing 2nd in the driver’s standings.
Max refused the request from his team, claiming he had his reasons.
The commentators and the internet both went wild trying to decrypt Max’s meaning here. According to a Dutch reporter, Checo admitted to crashing on purpose to qualify on pole and Max has held a grudge ever since.
There are also…wilder theories.
Checo finished with some points in P7, but was hampered by the medium tyres being unexpectedly ineffective. Checo enters next week tied with Leclerc for 2nd.
Other Notes:
Alpine scored double points and McLaren had an unfortunate double DNF. Alpine enters the final race with a 19-point lead for fourth in the team standings.
Fernando Alonso turned in a terrific drive to finish P5 after a dramatic Saturday. Fernando got antsy behind his teammate Esteban Ocon at the start of the Sprint race and eventually drove into him, making contact. It was obviously Fernando’s fault, but he defended himself immediately over the radio.
Ocon finished P8 in the race and retains a five-point lead over his teammate in the driver’s standings.
Lance Stroll made another dangerous blocking move in the Sprint on Saturday, this time on his teammate Sebastian Vettel. Seb seems to be “just happy to be here” this season and brushed the incident off with an “ok” over the radio. It’s hard to imagine that Lance’s incoming teammate Fernando Alonso will react to such antics so calmly.
There are four team battles within less than 20 points and close driver battles all over the grid with one race remaining in Abu Dhabi next week.
