2022 F1 Brazilian GP 'first of many wins' for George Russell, says former world champion

George Russell's win in the 2022 F1 Brazilian GP was only the first of many for the Briton. That's the view of former world champion Mika Hakkinen as the former McLaren driver penned his thoughts in his weekly blog on Unibet.

Recapping the race in Sao Paulo, Hakkinen said:

"This feels like the first of many wins for George. He is at the right moment in his career, still only 24 and full of motivation. He did three years at Williams, learning F1 in a less competitive car, and he very nearly won his debut race for Mercedes when Lewis [Hamilton] missed the Sakhir Grand Prix [due to COVID] in 2020. He has had to wait until this weekend to have a competitive car again, but as soon as he had the right equipment he delivered the win."

Mika Hakkinen also gave props to George Russell's team Mercedes for the way it has rejuvenated and found itself back at the top of the podium. He said:

"One of the most impressive things to watch this year has been Mercedes' recovery. Their car was not working well at all during the first half of the season, but they never gave up and have developed it to the point where, in Brazil this weekend, it was very competitive. That's important for them, but also for Formula 1, because it means that Mercedes has understood the issues with this year's car and should be much stronger in 2023."

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George Russell started the weekend as the quickest Mercedes driver

Mika Hakkinen stressed the importance of a quick start to the weekend for George Russell. The Briton was the quicker of the two drivers in the team at the start of the weekend. He carried that advantage into Saturday by winning the Sprint race and then took it further by winning the Grand Prix as well on Sunday.

Hakkinen said:

"The racing was brilliant this weekend and George really deserves the win after putting in such a strong performance. He was the quickest Mercedes driver in Friday qualifying, then won Saturday's Sprint race in a very impressive way. To be clear, he drove a perfect Grand Prix on Sunday – made a fantastic start, opened up a gap and did not allow Safety Car periods to interfere with his confidence. He had quite a lot of pressure to deal with, especially when Lewis Hamilton came to within 1.5 seconds of him, but he managed his lead perfectly."

With one win under his belt, George Russell has now picked up both his first pole position and his first win this season.