The Briton battled fiercely with the double champion, the pair battling wheel to wheel for three laps before the W13 rider grabbed the lead and raced away to victory.
As Verstappen continued to crash before sustaining damage, Lewis Hamilton completed a Mercedes double podium behind Carlos Sainz, while shock poleman Kevin Magnussen took eighth.
Verstappen and Nicholas Latifi, 16th at the start, were the only riders to start on the medium tyres, as everyone preferred the faster but less durable red-wall soft compound.
With more grip from the start, Magnussen launched hard to retain the lead into Turn 1 downhill and pulled within half a second of front row rival Verstappen, who had to heat up his tyres.
With Russell’s rubber immediately warmed up, he was able to stick his Mercedes’ nose alongside the Red Bull to battle for second place before the RB18’s superior straight-line speed made itself known and he snagged. away from the W13.
The punch of the Honda engine then allowed Verstappen to sneak into Magnussen’s tow, who eventually relegated the docile Haas rider under braking in Turn 1.
Russell followed suit with DRS to round the outside of the Dane over the start line. Before long, Sainz jumped inside Magnussen to knock him off the podium.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Verstappen looked strong as he trailed 1.1 seconds away from the chasing Silver Arrow, but Russell kept his faster soft tires alive to overtake the leader and win the DRS from the 10th round.
With overtake assist activated again, he attempted to round the outside into Turn 4 but Verstappen kept his composure under braking to secure position in the central sector.
There was almost a carbon copy of that die the next time around on lap 14, with Verstappen then doing better to drive out to hold the lead for another lap of Interlagos.
But then, on lap 15, Russell nailed his exit on the backstretch to gain tow and DRS once more to pull away from Verstappen in the braking zone and definitely put on first.
The W13 then came into song in the clear air, with Russell walking 1.6 seconds ahead as Verstappen was then under threat from Sainz, the Spaniard passing vigorously at the start of lap 19.
The British GP winner threw his F1-75 on the inside of Turn 1 with the wheelset knocked out and as Sainz came back to the racing line he clipped the Red Bull’s front wing.
That damaged end plate and a compromised line for Verstappen then meant, after crashing some debris, he was threatened by Hamilton. But the Dutch rider squeezed his bitter 2021 championship rival into Turn 6 to hold on to third place for now.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18 battles with George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
But at the end of lap 18 Hamilton won the DRS to cross the line and cement third before chasing after Sainz – now complaining he was losing the soft tyres.
He managed to hold within half a second of Hamilton, but it was Russell who bagged the spoils nearly four seconds clear to score Mercedes their first win of the year.
Verstappen continued in fourth place but was 6 seconds behind Hamilton, as Sergio Perez recovered from ninth to fifth ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, while Magnussen’s early demise ended in eighth place .
Sebastian Vettel took ninth place after surviving a trip to the grass trying to pass ultra-defensive teammate Lance Stoll, and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
Stroll dropped to 17th with a 10-second penalty for his move over Vettel – two places over Fernando Alonso, who was forced to pit for a new front wing after colliding with fellow Alpine driver Esteban Ocon .
Ocon dropped to 18th ahead of only Latifi and Alex Albon, who retired on lap four.
Brazilian Grand Prix – Sprint Race Results
The Briton battled fiercely with the double champion, the pair battling wheel to wheel for three laps before the W13 rider grabbed the lead and raced away to victory.
As Verstappen continued to crash before sustaining damage, Lewis Hamilton completed a Mercedes double podium behind Carlos Sainz, while shock poleman Kevin Magnussen took eighth.
Verstappen and Nicholas Latifi, 16th at the start, were the only riders to start on the medium tyres, as everyone preferred the faster but less durable red-wall soft compound.
With more grip from the start, Magnussen launched hard to retain the lead into Turn 1 downhill and pulled within half a second of front row rival Verstappen, who had to heat up his tyres.
With Russell’s rubber immediately warmed up, he was able to stick his Mercedes’ nose alongside the Red Bull to battle for second place before the RB18’s superior straight-line speed made itself known and he snagged. away from the W13.
The punch of the Honda engine then allowed Verstappen to sneak into Magnussen’s tow, who eventually relegated the docile Haas rider under braking in Turn 1.
Russell followed suit with DRS to round the outside of the Dane over the start line. Before long, Sainz jumped inside Magnussen to knock him off the podium.
Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-22, Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
Verstappen looked strong as he trailed 1.1 seconds away from the chasing Silver Arrow, but Russell kept his faster soft tires alive to overtake the leader and win the DRS from the 10th round.
With overtake assist activated again, he attempted to round the outside into Turn 4 but Verstappen kept his composure under braking to secure position in the central sector.
There was almost a carbon copy of that die the next time around on lap 14, with Verstappen then doing better to drive out to hold the lead for another lap of Interlagos.
But then, on lap 15, Russell nailed his exit on the backstretch to gain tow and DRS once more to pull away from Verstappen in the braking zone and definitely put on first.
The W13 then came into song in the clear air, with Russell walking 1.6 seconds ahead as Verstappen was then under threat from Sainz, the Spaniard passing vigorously at the start of lap 19.
The British GP winner threw his F1-75 on the inside of Turn 1 with the wheelset knocked out and as Sainz came back to the racing line he clipped the Red Bull’s front wing.
That damaged end plate and a compromised line for Verstappen then meant, after crashing some debris, he was threatened by Hamilton. But the Dutch rider squeezed his bitter 2021 championship rival into Turn 6 to hold on to third place for now.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18 battles with George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
But at the end of lap 18 Hamilton won the DRS to cross the line and cement third before chasing after Sainz – now complaining he was losing the soft tyres.
He managed to hold within half a second of Hamilton, but it was Russell who bagged the spoils nearly four seconds clear to score Mercedes their first win of the year.
Verstappen continued in fourth place but was 6 seconds behind Hamilton, as Sergio Perez recovered from ninth to fifth ahead of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris, while Magnussen’s early demise ended in eighth place .
Sebastian Vettel took ninth place after surviving a trip to the grass trying to pass ultra-defensive teammate Lance Stoll, and Pierre Gasly completed the top 10.
Stroll dropped to 17th with a 10-second penalty for his move over Vettel – two places over Fernando Alonso, who was forced to pit for a new front wing after colliding with fellow Alpine driver Esteban Ocon .
Ocon dropped to 18th ahead of only Latifi and Alex Albon, who retired on lap four.
Brazilian Grand Prix – Sprint Race Results