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.
"It was incredible... I wasn't expecting to have that much pace, but I think it goes to show all the hard work everyone has put in and the progress we as a team have made," he said. "These last three races since Austin, the car has been feeling really great.
"Obviously, it's difficult to know how Max would have got on had he been on the soft tyres, but nevertheless standing here, it's a great feeling. This is a Sprint race and you've got to manage risk and reward, so even though I was dying to get that victory I didn't want to risk too much and end up with no points and starting from the back, but we made that stick.
"It's crazy to think we're both starting on the front row. Lewis did a great job coming from P8, so it's going to be exciting. I'm sure Max is going to be flying tomorrow coming through the pack, but we're in a luxury position and maybe we can split the strategy and go for the win."
Hamilton also paid tribute to Mercedes staff for the result. As he took the microphone to begin his home interview, he waved to the locals who roared their appreciation – the seven-time world champion is the overwhelming local favourite, in the absence of a native Brazilian on the grid.
"It's been an incredible week, a difficult day yesterday, but what a crowd we've had today," said Hamilton. "Starting from eighth and making my way through slowly – congratulations to George – this just goes to everyone back at the factory, everyone here who have been working so hard this year.
"This is an amazing result. For us to be on the front row tomorrow is incredible, so from there we should be able to work as a team and hopefully hold off the guys behind. We're going to try as hard as we can, hope for some good weather and we could have a good fight on our hands. A win in Brazil would be incredible."
