George Russell captures first F1 victory as Mercedes sweeps top two at Brazilian GP

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Chased to the end by F1 Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton, a tearful George Russell scored his first Formula One victory Sunday in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

It was also Mercedes’ first GP win of an otherwise disappointing season with Hamilton making it an impressive 1-2 for the team in a statement of intent for next season.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz Jr. completed the podium at Interlagos.

The 24-year-old Russell dominated the race in Sao Paulo after starting first because of his sprint race victory Saturday. He had seven podium finishes before Sunday’s victory.

Russell became the first British driver to hear “God Save the King” played for the race winner after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 and the accession of King Charles III.

“It has been an emotional roller coaster … Lewis put me under so much pressure,” an emotional Russell said. “This is just the beginning.”

Hamilton, who started second, had dropped to eighth after his car made contact with two-time series champion Max Verstappen’s Red Bull. The Dutchman was given a five-second penalty and finished in sixth place.

Hamilton did not want to elaborate on the incident with Verstappen.

“What can I say? You know how it is with Max,” Hamilton said after the race.

Verstappen and his Red Bull team already have been crowned F1 champions.

Verstappen and teammate Sergio Perez seemed to be in disagreement at the end of the race.

Perez, who is still fighting for second place in the drivers’ championship, was sixth when he was overtaken by Verstappen near the end of the race and finished behind him.

After he was unable to pass the cars ahead of Perez, Verstappen was ordered by the team to allow his teammate to finish ahead of him and score more points, but the champion disagreed.

“I told you already. You guys don’t ask that again to me. Are you clear about that? I gave you my reasons and I stand by it,” Verstappen said.

Perez sounded upset on team radio. “It shows who he really is,” he said.

The Brazilian GP was the penultimate race of the season ahead of Abu Dhabi on Nov. 20.

George Russell captures first F1 victory as Mercedes sweeps top two at Brazilian GP originally appeared on NBCSports.com