The field did not have time to complete the starting lap, as the safety car had already entered the track. Ricciardo of the “McLaren” touched the car Magnussen (“Haas”), and he, after a corner, eliminated the Australian and finished the race for both.
The restart on lap 7 proved to be even more eventful: Verstappen overtook Hamilton, but then let the Briton pass and crashed into him. And behind Norris (“McLaren”) eliminated the driver “Ferrari” LeClair. As a result, the perpetrators of the accidents were given 5-second penalties and turned back. Meanwhile, on lap 10, the top three formed with Russell, Perez and Sainz.
In turn, Hamilton quickly recovered from his collision with Verstappen. He overtook Vettel and Norris in two laps to work his way up to 4th place. A spate of pit stops kept the top four in place. But the speed of the “Mercedes” allowed after the second visit to the pits to re-establish the double advantage for the team.
Norris decided to add intrigue to the race. Due to technical problems on lap 52, the “McLaren” driver stopped in a bad place and caused a new appearance of the safety car, first virtual and then real. As a result, the group reconvened.
Perez became the underdog of the next reboot. The Mexican from “Red Bull” overtook Sainz, Leclerc and Alonso for several laps. Subsequently, they were joined by Verstappen, who rushed to catch up with the Monegasque from Ferrari to prevent him from scoring more points in the GC – Leclerc is battling Perez for the vice-championship.
But in fact, in the final laps, there were no changes in the first six riders. Thus, Russell won the first victory in his career. This victory was also the first for Mercedes in the 2022 season. The top 10 was completed by Perez, Okon, Bottas and Stroll.
2022 Brazilian Grand Prix standings:
- George Russell
- Lewis Hamilton (+1,529)
- Carlos Sainz (+4.051)
