George Russell hailed a milestone for Mercedes after making sure his team would not end the Formula 1 season without a win of some sort.
The Briton’s success in the Sao Paulo sprint at Brazil’s Interlagos on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), setting the grid for the penultimate grand prix of the campaign, brought him only eight points – but its significance was far greater.
“They all count,” he said of a 24-lap race without pit stops that will still rank as his first win in Formula 1.
“It was definitely a sweet feeling to cross that line in first position … it’s so great to see the progress we’re making as a team.
“It’s such a morale booster going into the winter regardless of the outcome tomorrow. This is a huge result for us.”
Russell told reporters immediately after the race it was “a pretty big milestone”, considering where Mercedes had been at the start of the season with a bouncing and uncompetitive car.
George Russell won the sprint race in Brazil.Credit:AP
Mercedes came into 2022 having won eight constructors’ titles in a row but have spent months trying to unlock performance from a car that promised plenty but has not delivered.
That could change in Brazil, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton joining Russell on the front row for the main grand prix after starting the sprint in eighth place and overtaking double world champion Max Verstappen.
Hamilton said they needed to go for the win on Sunday, working as a team.
“You know, this is about the team,” he said. “We’ve got to get this result for the team. I think it’d be incredibly special. And obviously, we’re chasing the red guys [Ferrari]. So it could be good.”
Mercedes are third in the championship but hoping to reel in Ferrari to at least rescue the year as runners-up.
“It would be the greatest dream for sure to get a win here,” added Hamilton, who won at Interlagos last year and waved the Brazilian flag on the podium in honour of boyhood hero Ayrton Senna.
The Briton was given honorary Brazilian citizenship earlier in the week.
“It’ll be tough to race George tomorrow. But we’ll hopefully have a bit of a battle. And, you know, either way, we’ve got to make sure that we get the points and one-two for the team,” he said.
Piastri gets behind wheel for McLaren
Australian Oscar Piastri will drive for McLaren in Formula 1’s Abu Dhabi post-season test after the team reached an agreement with Renault-owned Alpine to release him.
French driver Pierre Gasly will also be freed by Red Bull-owned AlphaTauri to test with Alpine, the team he is joining for 2023.
McLaren announced in September that 21-year-old Piastri, Alpine’s reserve this year, had signed for 2023 as a replacement for compatriot Daniel Ricciardo after winning a contract dispute.
Alpine had also wanted Piastri to replace departing double world champion Fernando Alonso, who is joining Aston Martin.
“I can confirm that in the end we reached a settlement agreement with all parties involved which enabled us to put Oscar in an old car last week in Paul Ricard [Le Castellet] to do a private test,” McLaren boss Andreas Seidl told reporters at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
He said Piastri would start working officially with McLaren on November 21 and test the current car at Yas Marina.
“The season’s nearly at the end and it was time to come to an agreement, and we did,” said Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer.
“We’re happy that Oscar can start his McLaren career after the last race in Abu Dhabi and do the test and we will be doing the same with Pierre, we’ll be putting Pierre in the car in Abu Dhabi.”
Oscar Piastri will race with McLaren next season.Credit:Getty Images
Alpine and McLaren are in an intense battle for fourth place in the constructors’ standings, with the French team seven points clear of their rivals with two races remaining.
Seidl said getting Piastri in the car for the Abu Dhabi test was important.
“Kilometres nowadays in Formula 1 cars for race drivers are quite limited, with the regulations that are in place especially when it comes to running the current car,” said the German.
“Therefore it’s a very important test for us to get an initial read from Oscar’s side as well on our car and give him an initial feeling which is then simply the starting point of making sure we get him ready for Bahrain next year.
“We have a good program in place and a lot of experience in getting young drivers ready for their first race in Formula 1 and that’s obviously the objective.”
Meanwhile, Haas will announce next week whether Mick Schumacher is staying or going, the Formula 1 team’s boss Guenther Steiner said.
Schumacher, the 23-year-old son of Ferrari great and seven-time world champion Michael, is out of contract at the end of the season which ends in Abu Dhabi on November 20 and risks being without a drive next year.
The German’s predicament was not helped by qualifying for the sprint race when he ended up last while teammate Kevin Magnussen took a surprise pole position.
“Expect the announcement some time next week,” Steiner told reporters, amid increasing speculation the team’s decision has been made.
Experienced compatriot Nico Hulkenberg has been touted as a likely replacement.
Reuters
