Mercedes win the 2026 Formula 1 constructors’ title at Interlagos

Mercedes are the 2026 Formula 1 constructors’ champions. George Russell’s fourth place and Kimi Antonelli’s fifth at the São Paulo Grand Prix on Sunday took the team to 652 points, 142 ahead of Ferrari, with only three races left.

That margin is now out of reach. Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are all standard Grand Prix weekends without a sprint, so a team can score at most 43 points per race, 25 for a win and 18 for second. That is 129 points in total, eleven short of what Ferrari would need.

Full race classification: São Paulo Grand Prix 2026 results. Race report: Norris wins the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Fourth and fifth were enough

Interlagos itself belonged to McLaren and Red Bull. Lando Norris won from pole, Max Verstappen climbed from 21st on the grid to second and Isack Hadjar finished third. Russell crossed the line 33.991 seconds behind Norris, with Antonelli two seconds further back on the road; a five-second penalty for an unsafe release did not cost him fifth.

Ferrari had a weekend to forget at the worst possible moment. Lewis Hamilton started 20th after a grid penalty and finished ninth, a lap down, and Charles Leclerc, who also had a ten-place grid drop, crossed the line seventh but was classified eighth after a five-second penalty for colliding with Liam Lawson. Ferrari left Brazil with six points, Mercedes with 22.

Twelve wins in twenty races

The title rests on a season of consistency. Antonelli has won nine Grands Prix this year: China, Japan, Miami, Canada, Monaco, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the United States. Russell added victories in Australia, Austria and Azerbaijan. Twelve wins from twenty rounds left the rest of the field chasing what was left: Red Bull Racing have 415 points, McLaren 398.

Antonelli also leads the drivers’ standings on 390 points. Verstappen, second on 279, can score at most 75 more, so that title cannot leave Mercedes either: Antonelli had already clinched it in Mexico City. The current table: F1 standings 2026.

It is Mercedes’ ninth constructors’ championship, and the first since 2021, the last of eight straight titles that began in 2014.

Our arithmetic

Ferrari’s season will be remembered for what happened late. A 126-point deficit before Brazil was already close to impossible, and the grid penalties at Interlagos turned a long shot into a formality. Mercedes did not need a win in São Paulo, only two clean finishes, and they got them.

The more open question now sits behind Antonelli. Five drivers are within 33 points of each other in the fight for second: Verstappen 279, Russell 262, Hamilton 261, Leclerc 249 and Norris 246. Every scenario for the last three rounds: F1 2026 championship permutations.

Las Vegas next, on Saturday 21 November

The championship moves to Las Vegas, where the race starts on Saturday 21 November at 20:00 local time, which is Sunday 22 November at 05:00 CET and Saturday 21 November at 23:00 ET. Mercedes arrive as double champions, with Russell and Antonelli free to race for wins. Driver profiles: Kimi Antonelli and George Russell.

Sources: formula1.com São Paulo Grand Prix provisional race classification and starting grid, 2026 race results, drivers’ and teams’ standings, 8 November 2026.

Who finishes second in the 2026 drivers’ championship: Verstappen, Russell or one of the Ferraris? Tell us in the comments.