Hamilton reveals emotional reaction to Russell's maiden Mercedes win

Ewan Gale
Sunday 11 December 2022 12:30

Lewis Hamilton has revealed the emotion of seeing his Mercedes team celebrating the one-two at the São Paulo Grand Prix.

The Silver Arrows had been the dominant force in F1 since the introduction of turbo-hybrid power units in 2014, winning each constructors' title up to last year and only conceding the drivers' championship to Max Verstappen.

But the new F1 regulations left Mercedes struggling to keep pace with Red Bull and Ferrari in the early stages of the year.

Despite the difficulties, the Brackley-based team continued to improve through developments, leading to the upgrade introduced at the United States Grand Prix, in particular, putting Mercedes back into the fight for wins.

The duck was finally broken by George Russell as he picked up his maiden F1 victory at Interlagos, with seven-time champion Hamilton finishing runner-up to secure Mercedes's first one-two since Imola 2020.

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Speaking to Channel 4, Hamilton has revealed his pride in seeing the entire workforce rewarded for the tireless effort to return to the top.

"I saw a video of my team when we got to Dubai," explained Hamilton.

"Just seeing everyone celebrating all together was quite an emotional thing, knowing how hard everyone had worked through the year.

"Also knowing how difficult it would have been for them, knowing how hard they would have worked last winter and they were not rewarded for all the hard work they had put in necessarily.

"The whole season, not giving up and continuing to keep the faith, keep the hopes high and get a one-two was a very proud moment for me and the whole team."