Lewis Hamilton beamed as he greeted the adoring Brazilian crowd in Portuguese, as he and George Russell reacted to a dream Sprint result for Mercedes.
Russell won the short-form race – the first such victory of his Formula 1 career – as Max Verstappen struggled on his medium tyres. Hamilton charged through from eighth on the grid to finish third, and he will move up to second on the grid for Sunday's race given Carlos Sainz has a penalty.
It gives the Silver Arrows a remarkable opportunity to finally secure a first race victory of this season. And speaking in his post-race interview, Russell said he was surprised by how well his car performed and was understandably delighted to have won his lengthy on-track battle with Verstappen.
