Race Report: Team Crowned World Champions in Brazil

• The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team is crowned World Champions as George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished P4 and P5 in today’s São Paulo Grand Prix.

• That gives The Silver Arrows an unassailable lead in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Constructors’ Championship.

• It caps a remarkable season in which the team has won 12 races en route to its first title since 2021.

• That came after a remarkable race in Brazil where the team 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 spinning at pit exit and Kimi at T1 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 George cycling ahead of his team-mate to P4, 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, putting him level with Frank Williams for the most in F1 history.

• Adding in Kimi’s Drivers’ title this year, 17 World Championships have now been won during Toto’s tenure putting him level with Ron Dennis (10 Constructors’, 7 Drivers’) for combined Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships as Team Principal.

Kimi Antonelli

I’m disappointed with my race today because I really felt the win was there. We had a very strong start and the pace on the Intermediates was really good. Once we switched to the Soft tyre, I was getting into a good rhythm, but I started to feel something strange with the rear of the car. It was very unstable, particularly in some of the high-speed corners, and I then had the spin. That flat-spotted the tyres and compromised the rest of the race. When we put a new set on later, the pace was strong again, so it’s frustrating and we need to understand exactly what happened.

We can put that disappointment aside though because today is a great day for the team. Everyone deserves this Constructors’ Championship. It’s not only the boys and girls here at the track, but everyone back at Brackley and Brixworth, the support of Mercedes-Benz, PETRONAS and all our partners. They have worked incredibly hard to give us this car and the opportunity to fight for both championships. They helped me achieve my dream last weekend and I’m incredibly happy that today we could achieve this together. I’m very grateful to be part of this team. We’ll enjoy this moment, but we want to keep winning, so we’ll keep pushing and try to finish the season on a high.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It was a difficult and eventful race today, and ultimately, we didn’t maximise the opportunities we had. Kimi looked in a strong position early on and had good pace on both the Intermediate and Soft tyres, but the spin compromised his afternoon, and we need to understand the unusual balance he reported after switching to slicks. George also showed strong pace at different stages of the race, particularly on the Soft, but also reported similar balance concerns that cost him too. P4 and P5 therefore isn’t quite the way we would have wanted to secure the championship, but we did what we needed to do and there were encouraging signs in the underlying performance.

Winning the Constructors' Championship is the culmination of thousands of hours of work from people right across the organisation. Whilst the results are visible at the racetrack, so much of the performance comes from the effort, expertise and dedication of the teams back in Brackley and Brixworth.

This season has demanded a huge amount from everyone. We've had to evolve the car, solve problems, respond to our competitors and maximise every opportunity available to us. The way the entire organisation has worked together through those challenges has been hugely impressive.

As engineers, you're always focused on what can be improved and what comes next, but moments like this are important. Everyone involved in this team should feel an enormous sense of pride in what they have achieved. Winning a Constructors' Championship is one of the hardest things to do in sport, and it is a reward that every member of this team deserves.

Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG; Chief Technology Officer, Development & Procurement

The 2026 regulations changed almost everything at once: the power unit, the chassis, and the aerodynamics. To win the Constructors' title in that environment confirms that the Mercedes-AMG F1 W17 E PERFORMANCE is an outstanding technical package. Formula One is our fastest development laboratory. What we learn here about efficiency, hybrid technology and development speed flows directly into our road cars. That transfer of know-how is why we race. And above all, racing is a team effort. I am incredibly proud of this team and the passion and dedication that made this success possible.