Russell holds off Hamilton in Brazil for his first F1 victory

George Russell has won the first Grand Prix of his Formula 1 career, winning in Brazil as he held off teammate Lewis Hamilton at Interlagos.

This marks an impressive recovery from Mercedes, as they earn their first win of the season in the penultimate race, doing so with a one-two, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz in third.

An eventful Brazilian Grand Prix

It was an eventful race from start to finish, with Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen taking each other out in the first lap.

On the restart following a safety car, Hamilton and Max Verstappen touched, with the Dutchman given a five-second penalty as a result.

Both damaged their cars, but Verstappen suffered much more, while Hamilton was able to make an impressive recovery drive.

A late safety car, when Lando Norris' McLaren came to a stop, bunched Hamilton and Russell back together, but the younger driver did a great job to hold off his teammate.

Verstappen ultimately finished six, after refusing to let Sergio Perez through on the last lap.

Delight for George Russell

This was Russell's first Grand Prix victory, coming on his 81st start and a day after he won the sprint race to put him in this good position.

"Just a huge thank you to the whole team for making this possible," he said afterwards.

"It has been an emotional rollercoaster this season. This was a tough race, I felt in control.

"Lewis was super-fast and, when I saw the Safety Car, I thought this is going to be a really difficult end. He put me under so much pressure.

"On the in lap, all of these memories start flooding back, starting with my mum and dad at go karting and going through to all of the support I have had from the rest of my family, my girlfriend, my trainer, my manager. The list is endless.

"I can't thank them all enough, I am super proud."

Toto Wolff isn't in Brazil this weekend, but videocalled Russell after the race to congratulate him, while also thanking Hamilton for his efforts in securing this one-two finish.

There is not just one race to go this season, at Abu Dhabi next weekend.