Lewis Hamilton insisted he was happy despite Mercedes’ first win in the 2022 Formula 1 season came at the hands of teammate George Russell, not his.
Mercedes finally got the elusive win in 2022, but more importantly, George Russell who joined the team at the start of this season rewarded their faith and took his first F1 career win at the 2022 Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
Russell’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton, who has – up to now – won at least one race in every F1 season he has contested since his debut with McLaren in 2007, finished second behind his teammate.
Some may believe Hamilton would be disappointed for not being the winner in Brazil, but the Briton claimed otherwise; he told Sky Sports F1: “Honestly, I feel really good.
“We’ve worked so hard this year,” he added. “To be where we are, to be fighting for front row, to be fighting for podiums and to get a one-two, honestly I am elated for the whole team.”
As for his team’s prospects as they head into the final race in Abu Dhabi, Hamilton added: “Who knows [if Mercedes can win in Abu Dhabi]? We didn’t expect to be as quick as we have been this weekend. It’s just incredible, the turnaround.
“It’s really all down to the incredible men and women back at the factory, who have been working so hard all year long, never giving up,” he maintained.
Russell truly deserves the win
In his team’s post race report, Hamilton was full of praise for Russell; he said: “I have to say huge congratulations to George, what an amazing drive he did today.
“He did an amazing job yesterday in the Sprint so he truly deserves it,” the seven-time Champion added. “To my Team, I’m so proud of everyone back at the factory and here.
“This is an incredible result – we’ve worked so hard through this year to get a 1-2, and to get a win. This is hugely, hugely deserved for everybody, so a big thank you to you all,” Hamilton concluded.
Hamilton had a shaky start to his race at Interlagos, as he clashed with Max Verstappen after the race restart following a Saftey Car period to clear the cars of Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo who crashed out on the opening lap.
While Verstappen was penalized with a five-second time penalty, Hamilton suffered from damage on his W13’s floor but soldiered on, showing impressive to ultimately finish the race second.
Andrew Shovlin, Mercedes Director of trackside engineering hailed the Briton saying: “A fantastic recovery for Lewis.
“We thought he’d have been out of the picture after the collision with Max but he put in a brilliant drive to get back to P2,” Shovlin maintained.
P2 IN BRASIL! ?? LEWIS COMPLETES A MERCEDES 1-2 AT INTERLAGOS ?? pic.twitter.com/v1AxXlMa7T
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 13, 2022