Red Bull's F1 Drivers Insist They're Done Fighting

Plus, a return to winning ways for Mercedes AMG F1.   [View in Browser]( [Road & Track logo]( [Grid Notes logo]( Hello! It’s Alanis King, as always. Nice to talk to you again. What a week of motorsports action we had, highlighted by Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen [taking an improbable pole]( at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Let’s get into it. [SHOP]( [EXCLUSIVES]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Mark Thompson | Getty Images [Mercedes Finally Wins a Formula 1 Race]( This time last year, the Mercedes F1 driver Lewis Hamilton was locked in [an even fight for the title]( with Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen. This year, one race before the season finale, Hamilton’s Mercedes team finally got its first win of 2022. George Russell [won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday](, on a weekend when Mercedes finally started to look like itself again. Mercedes has dominated most of the last decade of F1, but [car regulations changed this year](, and the team just never got the hang of the new rules. Red Bull’s been the star of the show all season, and Ferrari’s been fast but [reliably bad at everything else](. Mercedes has been slowly clawing its way back out of the hole all year, and it all culminated in Brazil. Russell [won the sprint race on Saturday](, which set the field for the big race on Sunday before grid penalties. Hamilton finished third in the sprint. Russell and Hamilton stayed out of most of the carnage during Sunday’s race—and there was a lot of it, from [Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo to Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc](—to finish first and second ahead of the two Ferraris, Carlos Sainz and Leclerc. The Brazilian Grand Prix was Russell’s first F1 win, while Hamilton remains winless on the season. He only has one more race to change that at the season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend. If he doesn’t win in Abu Dhabi, this will be the first winless season of Hamilton’s 16-year F1 career. No pressure, though! [Read More](     Nurphoto | Getty Images [The Red Bull F1 Drivers Swear They’re Done Fighting]( The Brazilian Grand Prix was one of the most chaotic we’ve seen in years. If you didn’t watch it, make sure you catch a replay. In addition to all the wrecks and other drama, Red Bull had one little request for [Max Verstappen]( at the end of the race: to let his teammate, Sergio Pérez, pass him to gain some extra championship points. The request requires some context. Verstappen [won the drivers’ championship weeks ago](, thanks to a [record-breaking season]( and dutiful teamwork from Pérez, who regularly adheres to team orders that help Verstappen. Checo will [hold up other drivers like his life depends on it]( to help his teammate, then pull over to let Verstappen pass. Pérez is loyal on track. In Brazil, Verstappen and Pérez were running sixth and seventh toward the end of the race. Red Bull did something I never thought the team would do—ask Verstappen to pull over for Pérez—but it made sense. Pérez needed the points in his fight for runner-up in the drivers’ championship. Verstappen, who already secured the title this season, didn’t need any more points. Verstappen refused to let Checo pass, explaining: "I told you already last time. Don't ask that again to me—are we clear about that? I gave my reasons, and I stand by it." Pérez, who was not thrilled, said on the radio: “Thank you for that, guys. Thank you." "I'm sorry about that, Checo,” team principal Christian Horner told him. "It shows who he really is,” Pérez responded. The boys got into such a nasty spat that [Verstappen’s mom got involved](, with reports saying she posted about Pérez “cheating on his wife” on Instagram. On Monday, Pérez [tweeted](: “With Max and the team everything was discussed yesterday and it will remain internal, this is behind us and we will continue working as the great team that we have been until now.” So, yeah, things are going great at Red Bull Racing! We all love each other here! Please stop asking! [Read More]( James Moy Photography | Getty Images [Toyota Wins the World Endurance Championship. Again](. This story is filed under “actually not fighting.” Over the weekend, Toyota won its fourth-straight World Endurance Championship title. It had no real competition from other manufacturers throughout the season, so the championship was Toyota’s to lose. Respect to Toyota for staying in something just because you know you can win it. That’s what I’d do. Toyota won the title with a victory at the 8 Hours of Bahrain season finale, and [Sébastien Buemi, Ryo Hirakawa, and Brendon Hartley were its champion drivers](. They also [won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans](. Toyota won’t be as lonely next year because carmakers like Cadillac, Porsche, Ferrari, and Peugeot all have cars ready for [WEC’s new hypercar class](. Let’s just hope when the real fight begins, no one starts posting about each other’s cheating scandals on Instagram. [Read More](   What’s Coming Up This Weekend? Hello, it’s Motorsports Editor Fred Smith. Here’s what you need to know about the year’s final major race. Formula 1 – Saudi Arabian Grand PrixSunday, 5:00 a.m. ET, ESPN2 Finally, a 22-race Formula 1 season draws to a close. The season’s biggest storylines are long since wrapped up, but last weekend’s dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix has thrown a few new logs on the dying embers of the season. Max Verstappen’s petulance headlines the season finale. As mentioned, the long-since-crowned 2022 champion chose not to give his late-race position to teammate Sergio Pérez for reasons he has apparently declared to Red Bull Racing but will not reveal to the public. Pérez is tied with Charles Leclerc in the drivers’ championship, both vying for second place, but Perez would have been up two points if Verstappen had let him pass. At Mercedes, a suddenly winning car has salvaged the team’s season and kept their hybrid-era winning streak afloat. It has also made George Russell a race winner in his first full season with the team, but all-time wins record holder Lewis Hamilton is in danger of going winless for a full season for the first time in his entire career. Given how fast the W13 was last weekend, both as a leading car with George Russell and fighting through traffic in both races in Hamilton’s hands, this race should be a great opportunity to change that. Sunday also marks the end of Sebastian Vettel’s celebrated career. The four-time champion steps away from the sport at just 35, handing his lead seat at Aston Martin F1 to 41-year-old two-time champion Fernando Alonso.     [Watch This C8 Corvette Smash Into a Curb While Trying to Show Off]( [Watch This C8 Corvette Smash Into a Curb While Trying to Show Off]( [Watch This C8 Corvette Smash Into a Curb While Trying to Show Off]( [READ MORE]( [The Crash That Changed Everything for Kyle Busch]( [The Crash That Changed Everything for Kyle Busch]( [The Crash That Changed Everything for Kyle Busch]( [READ MORE]( [The 2024 Subaru Impreza Brings Back the RS Trim, Ditches Sedan]( [The 2024 Subaru Impreza Brings Back the RS Trim, Ditches Sedan]( [The 2024 Subaru Impreza Brings Back the RS Trim, Ditches Sedan]( [READ MORE]( [The Best Electric Cars You Can Buy in 2022]( [The Best Electric Cars You Can Buy in 2022]( [The Best Electric Cars You Can Buy in 2022]( [READ MORE]( Follow Us [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Notice/Notice at Collection]( RoadandTrack.com ©2022 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. 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