Hakkinen: This is just Russell’s first win

In São Paulo, George Russell opened the scoring with Formula 1 wins and the Mercedes team celebrated a double success as for the first time in a season that was very difficult for them, the drivers took the top two steps of the podium. Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen commented on the main events of the Brazilian weekend.

This weekend we saw some great races and George really deserved this win as he was very confident. He was the fastest of the Mercedes drivers in Friday’s qualifying and went on to win Saturday’s sprint in impressive style. On Sunday he had a perfect Grand Prix: he had a great start, immediately created a gap and in periods when there was a safety car on track, he didn’t let anyone shake his confidence.

George had to endure strong pressure, especially when Lewis Hamilton was behind him by a second and a half, but the Briton did everything right and kept the lead. It looks like this is just the first of many that Russell will have to win in the future.

Now in his career is the most appropriate moment so far: he is only 24 years old and he is very motivated. During his three years at Williams, he learned Formula 1 by driving less competitive cars and nearly won his debut race with Mercedes when Lewis was forced to sit out the Sahir Grand Prix in December 2020. But George had to wait until this weekend, because only now did he get a really fast car at his disposal – and immediately won.

Mercedes’ return to the first positions is one of the most impressive topics this year. They had an inefficient car in the first half of the season, but the team didn’t give up, continued to upgrade the W13 and returned to a competitive level by the Brazil stage. This is important not only for them, but for Formula 1 as a whole because it means Mercedes has solved the problems and needs to get stronger in 2023.

Red Bull struggled this weekend and it seems the change in temperature has taken a toll on the performance of the tires on their cars. In Saturday’s sprint the team decided to give Max Verstappen Medium tires but even on the softer tires they didn’t have the stability that Mercedes or Ferrari had.

This suggests that even a championship car can be very sensitive and its behavior can change from track to track. Max and Sergio Perez failed to achieve the usual speed superiority that we have seen this year this weekend.

The collision between Max and Lewis on lap 6 looked more like a racing incident, but the stewards decided the Dutchman was more at fault, so they gave him a 5-second penalty. I thought it was too harsh a penalty because Verstappen was ahead in Turn 1 and Lewis took the outside line in Turn 2 and took the lead as they approached the next apex.

No one wanted an accident, especially when it comes to riders who have taken so many victories. Max was able to take his foot off the gas, but everything happened in a split second, which required making such a decision.

The ramifications of the incident were as follows: first Lewis had a great race, he broke through the pack and finished second, and he was even able to argue with George for the win. Second, at the pit stop on Max’s car, the nose cone was replaced, and only 10 seconds were lost – an incredible feat from the Red Bull Racing mechanics! After that, Verstappen was able to attack at full power again and took 6th place in the race. The result is not the most impressive by his standards, and yet it was achieved thanks to the efforts of the team.

The team interest must come first: if you have agreements about how you treat your partner, it is better to always keep them. We don’t know exactly what arrangements there are between Max and Red Bull, but it is clear that he has the status of the number 1 driver in the team and he has already won two championship titles before her.

However, Sergio Perez has helped Max immensely on more than one occasion and this year they together ensured the team’s victory in the Constructors’ Championship. It would be nice if Max helped his teammate to 2nd place in the individual standings, especially now that Perez has as many points as Charles Leclerc, a Ferrari driver.

Christian Horner confirmed that the team had already discussed the current situation, the teammates shook hands and in Abu Dhabi Red Bull will try to help Sergio become vice champion. It will be interesting to see how they do it.

I’m already looking forward to the last race of the season. The battle for 2nd place in both championships continues, so an exciting Grand Prix awaits us. Ferrari wants to beat Mercedes, Charles wants to beat Sergio, so the stakes are still high.