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George Russell Wins Sao Paulo F1 Grand Prix, This May Be the Start of a New Era

It's better to arrive late to the party than to not arrive at all. Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 drivers have been struggling all year long to get back on top of the game, and it seems that they've finally found the winning formula. But this time it's the new kid on the block that has risen above the competition, and not the seven-time World Champion.
George Russell Wins the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, This May Be the Start of a New Era 30 photos
Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
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After a relatively uneventful race in Mexico, the Sao Paulo Grand Prix managed to bring back memories of the good old days of F1. This might just be the most exciting event we've seen all year long, as there was plenty of action to witness in every session.

It all started Friday with Kevin Magnussen scoring a historic Pole Position for Haas, a rather appropriate birthday present for Gene Haas, the team owner. Saturday's Sprint Race brought forth a memorable battle between George Russell and Max Verstappen, something we might see more of in 2023.

The Silver Arrows driver won the 24-lap Sprint, just seconds ahead of Carlos Sainz, who finished second, and Lewis Hamilton, who was third overall. While some will say that Verstappen ended up in P4 due to an uninspired choice of tires, others will point out that Mercedes has managed to overcome the issues they've been facing with the car this year.

But George Russell's role in getting thus far is not to be underestimated either, as the young Britton has proven on multiple occasions that he has it in him to follow in the footsteps of his teammate.

George Russell Wins the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, This May Be the Start of a New Era
Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
The main event was scheduled to take place on Sunday, at Autódromo José Carlos Pace, which is also widely known as Interlagos. Carlos Sainz was going to receive a grid penalty after his car had received a new engine, so both Mercedes drivers were going to start from the front row.

But they would be facing stiff competition from Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, and Charles Leclerc, who were right behind them. Even though Sainz was set to start from P7, most people expected him to outrun his teammate in Brazil.

In a strange twist of events, Ferrari opted to send out Leclerc on Medium tires for the start of the race. Meanwhile, all four of his opponents up front had mounted Soft tires. With an estimated 236,000 spectators at the event, the lights went off.

You could feel the tension in the air, and it didn't take long for someone to push things a bit too far. Daniel Ricciardo gave Kevin Magnussen a light tap which sent him into a spin. But that further led to more serious contact between the two, and they were both out of the race after less than one lap.

George Russell Wins the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, This May Be the Start of a New Era
Photo: Ferrari
The Safety Car was brought into play and it led the pack for several laps before clearing the track for action. Excitement levels spiked once again, as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen got a little too close for comfort.

It seems like whenever these two are next to each other, something wild is bound to happen. They made contact, and the stewards deemed it to be Verstappen's fault giving him a five-second penalty. Just moments later, things got heated up again as we witnessed the duel between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc.

The Ferrari spun out of control and into the wall, and for a second there it seemed like it was game over for Scuderia's ace driver. But he managed to get back to the paddock and come back into the race. Not only that but as soon as he returned he started setting the pace with some pretty fast laps.

Meanwhile, George Russell was comfortable in the lead, with Perez in P2, Norris in P3, and Sainz in P4. Cameras switched to Lewis Hamilton, as he started a furious charge to the top of the pack, overtaking Vettel, Norris, and Perez along the way. Lando Norris would end up with a DNF, after a mechanical problem.

George Russell Wins the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, This May Be the Start of a New Era
Photo: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
And then the Safety car went out on track once again, increasing the excitement and tension tenfold. With about 10 more laps to go, things were good to go once again. But some teams were clever enough to quickly call their drivers in for a pitstop, which meant they would have fresh tires to challenge their opponents for the remainder of the race.

And Alpine's Fernando Alonso was one of those drivers, once again proving that age is just a number to him. Running on aged tires, Perez could not fight back as he was overtaken by both Ferrari drivers and then Alonso as well. On lap 67, Verstappen also came flying past too.

Upfront, Lewis Hamilton was pushing as hard as he could to catch up to his teammate, but nothing could stop George Russell on his path to becoming the 113th driver to score a Grand Prix victory.

He is also the 20th United Kingdom citizen to be on that list, which further cemented the country's lead with 308 victories all in all. That's more than what drivers from Germany and Brazil have scored together. It was almost the perfect weekend for George Russell, as he won the Sprint race and also set the fastest lap on Sunday. And there's a good chance we'll be seeing more of this next year.

George Russell Wins the F1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, This May Be the Start of a New Era
Photo: Red Bull Racing
Lewis Hamilton has yet to win a GP this year, which is not something anyone could have predicted. But taking P2 overall yesterday gives Mercedes a fighting chance in the Constructors Standings before the last race of the season. Carlos Sainz wasn't that far behind, as he took third yesterday after a solid performance throughout the weekend.

Charles Leclerc came in fourth, after a brilliant effort to recover from his incident with Lando Norris. And he's now tied for points with Sergio Perez, who crossed the finish line in seventh. Max Verstappen was just in front of his teammate, and you'll notice plenty of drama on social media these days following the radio communications just before the end of the race.
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About the author: Dragos Chitulescu
Dragos Chitulescu profile photo

The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S.
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