Winner George Russell ‘learnt so much’ from Hamilton

He put me under so much pressure and I am so happy now to have come away from that with the victory

George Russell paid emotional tribute to the generosity and support of his family, the Mercedes team and team-mate Lewis Hamilton on Sunday after a flawless drive to his maiden full victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old Briton, who had won Saturday’s sprint race to secure pole position for Sunday’s classic contest, dominated from lights to flag to finish 1.5 seconds clear of seven-time world champion Hamilton. It was the first one-two of the season for the ‘silver arrows’ and a great triumph for the team after a challenging and disappointing start to the year when they struggled to cope with the new ‘ground effect’ era in Formula One. Mercedes are now just 19 points behind Ferrari in their bid to finish second in the constructors’ championship, a position they felt was unlikely after struggling so badly in the first half of the season.

Also read: Sprint winner George Russell: I wasn’t expecting that much pace

A tearful Russell admitted he had been through an emotional rollercoaster as he and the team battled to recover their competitive form, having been team champions for the previous eight seasons. “That was a really tough race,” he said. “I felt in control, but Lewis was super-fast and, when I saw the Safety Car towards the end of the race, I thought ‘Oh, Jesus —this is going to be a really difficult end. “He put me under so much pressure and I am so happy now to have come away from that with the victory.” 

When asked about Hamilton, he said, “Having Lewis Hamilton as a team-mate is something exceptional too. He is on it every day, he works so hard and he never misses anything. And he has been so great to work with—I have learned so much.”

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