Sao Paulo Grand Prix sprint: George Russell takes first win

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix is unrecorded connected 5 Live and the BBC Sport website

George Russell caught and passed Max Verstappen to instrumentality Mercedes' archetypal triumph of 2022 successful a thrilling sprint contention astatine the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Russell stayed with Verstappen from the commencement and, aft respective laps of wheel-to-wheel dicing, took the pb conscionable aft fractional distance.

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Verstappen past slipped backmost down Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Mercedes operator Lewis Hamilton to decorativeness fourth.

It was a singular effect astatine the extremity of a gripping race, which sets the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.

Not lone was it Mercedes' archetypal triumph astatine the extremity of a agelong and hard season, but it was the archetypal clip Verstappen had been passed and mislaid a contention since the Austrian Grand Prix backmost successful July.

Since then, a Red Bull operator has won each 9 grands prix, 8 of them going to Verstappen arsenic helium romped to a 2nd consecutive satellite title.

Verstappen did kick astir moving implicit immoderate debris - which mightiness person damaged his car - but Russell's gait was awesome passim the contention from the beginning.

Verstappen was the lone beforehand runner to take the mean tyre, portion everyone other successful the apical 10 chose softs, and determination volition beryllium questions arsenic to whether that was a mistake.

Verstappen was past Magnussen connected thigh three, with Russell pursuing him done 3 corners later.

Given Red Bull's gait this season, the anticipation was that the Dutchman would past waltz distant with the contention - but that is not what happened.

Russell stuck with Verstappen, lone much than a 2nd down for 2 laps, and by thigh 11 of 24 the Mercedes was close with the Red Bull.

Russell attacked hard, Verstappen defending conscionable arsenic robustly, for 3 laps, arsenic the Mercedes operator attacked into Turns One and Four looking for a mode by.

He yet managed it connected thigh 15, erstwhile helium got a tally connected Verstappen done the archetypal 3 corners, slipstreamed his down the backmost consecutive and passed earlier Turn Four - successful precise akin manner to the mode Hamilton passed Verstappen for triumph successful his sensational thrust successful the expansive prix past year.

Once Russell was into the lead, helium moved distant and took power of the race, and Verstappen soon came nether menace from Sainz's Ferrari.

Again Verstappen defended robustly, but Sainz was conscionable arsenic assertive erstwhile helium passed into Turn One with 5 laps to go.

Sainz ran Verstappen wide connected the exit of the corner, and the Red Bull's beforehand helping clipped the rear tyre of the Ferrari, tearing disconnected its end-plate.

Hamilton past passed Verstappen superbly by getting a tally connected him retired of Turn Four and up the elevation into Turn Five.

Behind Verstappen, team-mate Perez asked Red Bull to swap positions for the other constituent that would assistance his bid to bushed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to 2nd spot successful the drivers' championship, but his pleas fell connected deaf ears.

Leclerc, who started 10th, finished sixth down Perez, up of McLaren's Lando Norris, with Magnussen taking the last constituent successful eighth place.

Alpine's contention fell isolated aft Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso started sixth and seventh.

Ocon pushed Alonso wide astatine Turn Four arsenic the Spaniard tried to walk connected thigh one, damaging his beforehand wing, and past moved implicit connected the Spaniard again arsenic Alonso passed astatine the extremity of the lap.

It near Alonso distinctly unimpressed and provoked immoderate spiky vigor messages, successful which helium made wide that helium disapproved of Ocon's driving.

The incidental damaged Ocon's sidepod, and helium dropped down from sixth connected the archetypal thigh to decorativeness 18th.