Mercedes won the constructors’ championship in São Paulo without a podium finish, surviving spins and slippery conditions as Ferrari’s difficult afternoon became still more costly after the chequered flag.

Lando Norris won for McLaren after retaking the lead from Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who spun at Turn One as the circuit dried. Norris said his priority had been to “keep it cool” and avoid mistakes amid changing conditions.¹ Max Verstappen’s recovery from 21st to second underlined Red Bull’s pace in the mixed weather, while Mercedes’ George Russell also recovered from a pit-exit spin to finish fourth.

The championship outcome nevertheless reflected contrasting assessments of the teams’ days. Mercedes had errors of its own: Antonelli spun twice and later received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release, though it did not alter his sixth-place classification. Yet fourth for Russell and sixth for Antonelli were sufficient to secure the team’s first constructors’ crown since 2021.²

Antonelli framed the result as a success for the wider organisation rather than its drivers alone. “They all deserve it, incredible year by everyone,” he said of the personnel at the track and Mercedes’ Brackley and Brixworth bases.³

Ferrari, by contrast, left Interlagos with both cars off the leading pace. Lewis Hamilton’s late stop on returning rain left him ninth, while Leclerc initially finished seventh on the road before stewards handed him a five-second penalty for contact with Liam Lawson. The stewards concluded that, although the collision was minor, it disrupted Lawson and gave Leclerc an “obvious sporting consequence,” dropping the Ferrari driver behind him in the final order.⁴

Norris welcomed McLaren’s first win since August but cautioned that a single strong weekend was not enough. “You need a car that can fight through a whole year,” he said, setting McLaren’s victory against Mercedes’ season-long title consistency.³