Mercedes crowned 2026 Formula One Constructors' Champions at São Paulo Grand Prix
Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team secured its ninth Constructors' title as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished fourth and fifth in Brazil.
Mercedes won the 2026 FIA Formula One World Constructors' Championship at the São Paulo Grand Prix after George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished P4 and P5. It is the team's first title since 2021 and draws it level with Williams on nine Constructors' crowns.
Key takeaways
- Mercedes clinched the 2026 Constructors' Championship at the São Paulo Grand Prix.
- George Russell finished fourth and Kimi Antonelli fifth after 71 laps.
- The title is Mercedes' first since 2021 and its ninth overall.
- Toto Wolff is level with Frank Williams for most Constructors' titles as team principal.
- Russell cited strong pace on the Soft tyre but tyre warm-up issues on Intermediates.
com reported. The result gave the Silver Arrows an unassailable lead in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Constructors' Championship standings. It caps a remarkable season in which the team has won 12 races en route to its first title since 2021.
The title came after a remarkable race in Brazil where Mercedes set the pace on Intermediates on a drying track in the early stages, before losing its advantage as the switch to slicks came.
Despite having the strongest pace later in the stint, both drivers suffered with difficult tyre warm-up and were compromised; George Russell spun at pit exit and Kimi Antonelli spun at Turn 1 early on.
That strong pace helped them close on the top three having lost positions but then more rain came, necessitating a switch to the Intermediates.
Once again, both drivers suffered with warm-up and, with Russell cycling ahead of his team-mate to fourth, the cars came home line astern to secure the title.
That is the ninth FIA Formula One World Constructors' Championship that Mercedes has claimed, putting the marque third on the all-time list for Constructors' titles, drawing level with Williams.
It is also a ninth Constructors' Championship as Team Principal for Toto Wolff, putting him level with Frank Williams for the most in F1 history.
17 World Championships have now been won during Wolff's tenure, putting him level with Ron Dennis for combined Drivers' and Constructors' Championships as Team Principal.
Russell said it was a pretty eventful race. He noted really strong pace at times, particularly on the Soft tyre, and called that a big positive.
He made a mistake at the pit exit when he was perhaps taking too much risk, saying he saw an opportunity to fight for the win and wanted to go for it. He said he did not think it changed their finishing position too much.
They struggled more on the Intermediate towards the end, so there are definitely things for them to understand, but overall he was leaving the weekend encouraged by his performance.
He said he had been working hard to get back to that level consistently and had felt much more like himself there. Most importantly, they achieved what they came there to do and won the Constructors' Championship.
They would have liked to have done it in a bit more style, but he called it an incredible achievement for everyone in the team.
He noted they had four difficult years and the whole organisation put so much work into getting them back into this position.
Formula One is recognised by the FIA as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The 2024 championship was the 75th running and featured a record 24 Grands Prix, while the 2017 season was the 71st and featured 20 Grands Prix.
The 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix was held on 3 November 2024 at Interlagos and was the fifth sprint-format weekend of that season. The sources do not state the next race date or venue after the São Paulo Grand Prix.
São Paulo Grand Prix race result for Mercedes
Driver | Position | Laps | Fastest lap |
|---|---|---|---|
George Russell | 4th | 71 | 1:14.040 |
Kimi Antonelli | 5th | 71 | 1:12.689 |
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