The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team were back on the top step of the podium in Brazil with a superb victory from Pole position for Lando, marking the 50th podium of his career. Oscar also had a strong race day, rising from P10 on the grid to P6 at the flag, ensuring the team leaves Interlagos with a strong haul of points.
Conditions at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace were very difficult to manage. Light rain all morning left the track wet, and the race started with the field all running on Inter tyres. Lando experienced a difficult getaway from Pole position and dropped to P3, but the car's strong pace on Intermediates helped him recover to P2 by lap six. Oscar, meanwhile, had a good start, rising to P8, which became P7 by lap nine. Managing the changing conditions would demand close communication between the drivers and pit wall throughout the race.
By lap ten, while the atmosphere was still very damp, a dry line was forming on track. Clear dialogue between the team and drivers helped guide the timing of the move to slicks, with strategy and instructions from the pit wall playing an important part. The first cars came in for Soft tyres on lap 14, triggering a cascade, with Lando and Oscar following on lap 16 as the pit crew executed a good double-shuffle pit stop. When the order shook out, Oscar had risen to P6, and Lando, having been seven seconds behind leader Kimi Antonelli, had cut that gap to just one second. With the upgrades and car set-up contributing to a promising MCL40 on slick tyres, Lando reclaimed the lead on lap 20.
On lap 23, Oscar moved up to P5, passing Liam Lawson, as Race Control declared normal grip conditions and enabled Overtake Mode. His encouraging pace on dry tyres was now translating into progress, while Lando put the hammer down at the front. His lead was five seconds on lap 30 and 10 seconds on lap 40, underlining his speed on slicks as well as Intermediates. Further rain was due, but expected to be light, leaving the team with a difficult strategy call. It was possible that the Soft tyre would go all the way to the end, but a new Soft would cope better with light rain than an old one - provided it was up to temperature before the rain hit.
Max Verstappen had risen to P2 and was an early adopter of the new Soft, but Lando had enough margin to watch his times, build a tyre delta and pit at the moment of his choosing. He came in on lap 49 and emerged in P3, eight seconds ahead of Verstappen, with Antonelli and Hadjar ahead. They, along with Oscar, were potentially keen to tough it out, but the lap time gains being made by the cars on fresh rubber suggested that was unlikely to succeed. Hadjar pitted on lap 50, Oscar on 51, and Antonelli on 53. This dropped Oscar to P6, with George Russell moving ahead after opting not to make a second stop. Despite his strong dry-tyre pace, time spent in traffic had limited Oscar's progress. The weather would now shape his opportunity to recover.
The rain started falling almost immediately after the pit stops. At first, it was very light, but around lap 60 of the 71, it began to intensify. Russell came in on lap 61, with the rest of the top six following on lap 62, all swapping to Inters.
As the rain further intensified, Lando's lead remained rock-solid. Having recovered from the difficult start, he kept his race error-free through the tyre changes and worsening weather, delivering the assured drive Andrea praised afterwards. He came over the line 14 seconds clear of the chasing pack, to make it consecutive São Paulo victories - three in a row counting last year's Brazilian Sprint race.
It was a victory built on a collective team effort, with the work behind the scenes matched by execution on track. The garage crew deserved a special mention for a series of excellent pit stops in challenging conditions, including two 2.2s stops: Lando's initial stop on lap 16 and Oscar's second stop on lap 51.
It's been a tough triple-header across the Americas, but the team leaves in good form. This weekend's upgrades to the MCL40 have provided a timely boost for the final sequence of races and helped the team understand concepts ahead of next year.
However, despite today's performance, the victory must be kept in perspective as the low temperatures worked in our favour. Mercedes on the other hand, appeared stronger in warmer conditions, while our Constructors' Championship rival Red Bull remained fierce rivals, which shows that there is still plenty of work to do.
Andrea Stella: "It's fantastic to be back on the highest step of the podium! This success is truly the result of a team effort. Lando drove exceptionally well in very difficult conditions, proving to be the fastest on both slick tyres and the Intermediates; he didn't make even the slightest mistake, apart from the incident on the podium!
"Oscar was also very quick: perhaps he spent too long in traffic, but his pace on the dry tyres was encouraging. We should be proud of the work done by the whole team. The upgrades, the car set-up, the strategy, the instructions from the pit wall, and a series of excellent pit stops all contributed to the result.
"The upgrades we've brought here are giving us positive signs for the end of the season and have also helped us understand certain concepts ahead of next year. At the same time, we must keep this victory in the right perspective. The low temperatures worked in our favour, whilst Mercedes appeared stronger in higher temperatures. Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari will continue to be fierce rivals, so we know there's still a lot of work to be done.
"Congratulations to Mercedes on the Constructors' Championship and also to our partners at HPP, who have secured the world title for their power unit for the third year running.
"Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to a great Formula 1 driver, Alan Jones, who passed away a few days ago."
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.
Toto Wolff: Winning the world championship is a proud moment for every member of our team. F1 is a people business. The trophies may be handed over at the track, but success starts in our factories, in our meeting rooms, on the simulator, in the machine shops, and with every individual who contributes to our performance.
What makes me happiest today is seeing the reward for that effort. The men and women in Brackley and Brixworth have shown once again what can be achieved when talented people work together with humility, determination and a shared purpose. They have fought for every point, every improvement and every opportunity throughout the season.
This achievement has also been made possible by the strength of the partnerships that surround our team. PETRONAS has stood alongside us for more than a decade and continues to be an integral part of our performance. Their expertise, innovation and collaborative approach help drive us forward every day, whether through the development of our race fuels and lubricants or their work on advanced sustainable fuel technologies that will help shape the future of motorsport and mobility. We are equally grateful to Mercedes-AMG and the wider Mercedes-Benz organisation for their unwavering support and belief in what we do, and to INEOS for their commitment to our team and our long-term ambitions. Alongside them, our global partner family provides expertise, technology and support that helps us operate at the level required to compete for world championships.
We will enjoy this achievement because everyone has earned that right. Then, very quickly, our focus will turn to the next challenge. That is the mentality that has shaped this team and will continue to drive us forward. That is more important than ever as today wasn't an easy afternoon for us. We had the pace to win today but suffered during both transition points. We would obviously have liked to finish the job in a more convincing way, but ultimately, we scored the points we needed. These last few races have been challenging at times and today was another difficult one, so there is plenty for us to understand and improve.
That doesn't take anything away from what this team has achieved across the season though. We started the year incredibly strongly and that gave us the foundation that ultimately got us over the line today. I'm incredibly proud of everyone in this organisation. It has taken us several years to get back to the top, and that has required an enormous amount of determination and hard work from everyone at Brackley and Brixworth. Not many teams have been able to come back from a period like that and win again. This championship belongs to every single person in this team.
Ola Kallenius: Bringing home the F1 Constructors' World Championship means a lot to me personally, and even more to everyone who has put so much into this season. For the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team to achieve it under a completely new set of rules makes this triumph even more special and is the strongest proof that racing is deeply rooted in the Mercedes-Benz brand. This is engineering excellence at the very highest level, and I'm glad the whole world got to see it.
Jorg Burzer: 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.
Andrew Shovlin: 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.
Laurent Mekies: "Overall, this double podium is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the hard work, commitment and determination that define this Team.
"What a fantastic result for the whole Team here in São Paulo. Max delivered another masterclass drive, fighting his way from P21 to P2 in a way only him can do. That's now three consecutive podiums here in Brazil from P17 or lower. You could almost say we're getting used to it, but it never stops being outstanding to watch the way he races here, particularly in such challenging conditions.
"It's also been a fantastic weekend for Isack. He continued to build his confidence and performance throughout the weekend and delivered a fantastic race today, securing his third podium of the season in an example of clever racing. To have both drivers on the podium is a tremendous reward and true team effort from the whole group. The conditions were incredibly difficult to judge, and the drivers and team executed to perfection, from strategy to pit-stops.
"It wasn't all straightforward, though. We were very competitive on the intermediates, but from when we switched Max to the dry tyres, we experienced a significant change in balance that made things more difficult. We will need to understand that and keep pushing, because Lando ultimately had a little more pace than us today. Overall, this double podium is a fantastic achievement and a reflection of the hard work, commitment and determination that define this Team."
Scuderia Ferrari HP leaves the São Paulo Grand Prix with a modest haul of eight points, courtesy of a seventh place finish for Charles Leclerc and a ninth for Lewis Hamilton. Starting from 14th and 20th respectively following penalties for the replacement of power unit components, the two drivers managed to recover less than what the team was aiming for. In low temperature conditions, the SF-26s struggled more than other cars to get their tyres into the correct operating window, first on the Intermediates and later on the Softs.
The Grand Prix got under way on a damp track, with the entire field on Intermediate tyres. Hamilton made up eleven places on the opening lap, moving up to ninth, while Leclerc initially dropped one place before beginning to make up ground. However, both SF-26s struggled to get their tyres up to the correct temperature and, as a consequence, lost pace. As the track dried, Lewis switched to Softs on lap 14, with Charles following two laps later. However, once again, both SF-26s needed several laps to warm up their tyres, compromising the early stages of this stint. Hamilton made a second stop on lap 39 for another set of Softs and, as the race progressed and their rivals pitted, both Ferraris moved into the points. When the rain arrived towards the end, Leclerc pitted on lap 61 to switch back to Intermediates, while Hamilton stayed out for one more lap, spinning on the wet track and losing time before making his stop. Charles then overtook Liam Lawson on lap 70 to secure seventh place, while Lewis crossed the finish line in ninth.
Formula 1 now has a free weekend, before the action resumes in the United States with the Las Vegas Grand Prix, from 19 to 21 November.
Fred Vasseur: First of all, congratulations to Mercedes on winning the Constructors' Championship. They have done a very strong job this season and deserve this success. As for our race we knew it would be a tricky one due to the starting positions and the cold conditions. Lewis had a fantastic start and made up a lot of places, but as the stint progressed his performance dropped off, as was also the case for Charles. Overall, throughout the race we struggled to get the tyres into the right window, which made the car difficult to drive and resulted in inconsistent pace for both drivers. We were lacking performance and we need to understand how we can improve in conditions like these, especially as the next race in Las Vegas could also present us with very low temperatures.
James Vowles, Team Principal: "Well done to the team; this weekend, qualifying and the race have been some of the trickiest conditions I can remember. Every time, the call from inters to dry to inters, we were on the right tyre at exactly the right lap with Alex. That's no mean feat at a track where the conditions are changing by the second.
Well done to Alex, he did a brilliant job from the start and delivered the best performance possible from the car today, but as you can see, it exposed where the car is and where it needs to be. With Carlos, we were a little bit offset and not quite where we needed to be, and we didn't get the most out of it. But well done to both for persisting in difficult conditions.
Congratulations to Mercedes on the Constructors' Championship. Well earned, well deserved, and impressive from start to finish. An aspiration for all of us."
Alan Permane: "It's been another strong weekend from the team. It was an exciting first lap from Liam, jumping from third to second and keeping that position for some time. That being said, we have to be realistic that it would've always been a big ask to beat any of the top teams. As such, our focus was on making the correct strategy decisions when it mattered, which we did, meaning Liam finished in P7. Arvid also had a very strong race from the back of the grid to P11. His race pace was very strong, so there are lots of positives to take forward. It's great to be rounding off this challenging triple header with more points as we fight for P5 in the Contructors' Championship. We look forward to a break next weekend before we head to Las Vegas."
Mike Krack: "Mixed fortunes for us today: a strong drive from Fernando to finish P12 and Lance unfortunately retiring with a battery issue. Overall we must be satisfied with the outcome of the weekend as we were ahead of competitors with faster cars in Qualifying and Race. We always look forward to racing here in São Paulo - an iconic track with a passionate crowd - so it was great to deliver a strong performance in front of the Brazilian fans."
TGR Haas F1 Team finished the São Paulo Grand Prix, Round 20 of the 2026 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, with Ollie Bearman 17th and Rafael Câmara 20th at the checkered flag.
Bearman took the start from a career-best sixth on the grid on Pirelli Cinturato Green intermediate tires, following rain pre-race, and held 10th after a frenetic opening lap. Bearman maintained that position through the first stint before pitting on lap 16 for P Zero Red soft tires once the crossover to slicks had been reached, but a slow stop dropped the Briton to 18th position. Bearman made his second stop on lap 49, for another set of soft rubber, before coming in once more on lap 61 for intermediates when rain returned. Bearman completed the remaining laps to finish in 17th place.
Câmara made his maiden getaway from 11th position, also on intermediate tires, and settled into a rhythm in tricky conditions in the thick of the action. Câmara pitted on lap 15, changing onto soft tires, emerging 21st, and made his second pit stop on lap 50, taking on softs again. Câmara returned to intermediates on lap 61 due to further rainfall and classified in 20th place on his Formula 1 debut.
TGR Haas F1 Team sits in seventh position in the Constructors' Championship on 31 points.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: "It was a pretty tricky race. Ollie had a snap at Turn 3 on lap one, which meant his rear impact structure was a bit damaged, but we didn't know that at the time - so it had a huge impact on the pit stop. It's a shame because Ollie's pace on the first stint - even though we were struggling a little bit to start off with - he came back strong, and was fighting for P10. That really long pit stop, with the car damage, really killed his race. On his last inters stint, we weren't competitive, so there's lots to look into.
"For Rafa's first race in Formula 1, he obviously had very challenging conditions. He had very good pace, and he kept it clean. He made some mistakes, but overall, I think they were very challenging conditions to make your debut, so well done to him for completing this race without any big issues. We know he has performance, he has speed, it's just about consistency and delivering it. There's lots of learning today, but we've done as best as we could, and we'll take that forward from here and use it in Las Vegas."
Audi Revolut F1 Team claimed a point in a Brazilian Grand Prix which featured mixed weather conditions and plenty of on-track battles, as Nico Hulkenberg finished tenth following a decisive late-race overtake. Team-mate, Gabriel Bortoleto, had a challenge on his hands to recover from P19 on the grid, and crossed the line in 16th place in his home Grand Prix.
The race started in wet conditions and Nico, fourth on the grid, kept his nose clean in the opening stages. As the track dried and all drivers switched to slick tyres, his position stabilised in P10, as some front-runners starting at the back recovered their positions. A late penalty, 10 seconds for overtaking Franco Colapinto off-track, seemed to have removed all chances of points but, as the rain returned, a strong pit-stop by the crew allowed Nico to close in on Arvid Lindblad and overtake him for the final point-paying position.
Gabriel's race was always going to be complicated, starting from the back. Having survived an early scare - a contact with Sergio Perez while overtaking the Cadillac - the local hero battled his way in the difficult conditions, eventually finishing three places higher than he started and lapping as one of the quickest cars on track in the final stages.
The result brings the team's points total to 28, three short of Haas in seventh place in the Constructors' Championship.
Allan McNish, Racing Director: "It was a tough race for everybody, with conditions clearly not easy, particularly at the start on the intermediate tyres. Then came the question of when to switch to slicks, before another rain shower towards the end brought the track back towards intermediate conditions.
"From our perspective, Nico fought very well in the wet. We lacked a little bit of pace in the dry, but when the rain returned towards the end, he was able to fight back and reclaim P10, despite having to serve a ten-second penalty for overtaking Colapinto off the track after being pushed wide. The decision is the decision, and ultimately we came away with another point on the board.
"I have to say Nico drove a very strong race, and it was a real demonstration of the fighting spirit across the whole team. We also had a fantastic pit stop, which got him back out close enough to Lindblad to fight for that final points position. That work behind the scenes can sometimes go unnoticed, but it was crucial in giving Nico the opportunity to fight, and he made the most of it.
"For Gabi, starting from the back was always going to be extremely difficult, but he fought his way through to P16. We now reset, regroup and look ahead to Las Vegas in two weeks' time."
Flavio Briatore: "A disappointing end to a weekend where we have, in general, underperformed. It is clear we have work to do to understand how to maximise the car in the wet as it was a weakness for us this weekend. We were amongst the quickest on the Soft tyres in the phase of the race when everyone switched to dry tyres but that soon was no longer the case when the rain returned. There is lots for us to review as a team before we look ahead to the next race in Las Vegas. Finally congratulations to Toto [Wolff] and Mercedes on winning the Constructors' Championship after an impressive and dominant season."
The Cadillac Formula 1® Team finished the São Paulo Grand Prix with Checo Pérez in P18, while Valtteri Bottas was unable to take the start due to a rear right cross-threaded wheel nut.
Pérez started on Intermediate tires in wet conditions before switching to slicks as the track dried in the early stages. Rain returned with fewer than 10 laps remaining, prompting another pit stop for Intermediates to see him through to the checkered flag.
The team will now regroup after the triple-header and begin preparations for the closing stages of the season, with the team's third home race this year in Las Vegas up first in two weeks' time.
Marcin Budkowski, Team Principal: "It was a challenging day, starting with a cross-threaded wheel nut on Valtteri's car on the laps to the grid, which unfortunately forced us to retire the car before the start. It is a frustrating end to a triple-header and I want to thank Valtteri and the garage crew for their relentless efforts. We'll investigate the issue to ensure we don't suffer a repeat.
"On Checo's side, he drove well, managing the changeable conditions, and the Team made good strategy calls to beat a few of our competitors and finish P18 despite a slow pit stop. The rain ultimately wasn't disruptive enough to shake up the field, but it was a solid performance from Checo, maintaining pace with our nearest competitors. After a short break, we head back to the US next for our final home race of the season in Las Vegas, which will be a special weekend for the team."
Having secured pole position on Saturday, Lando Norris followed it up with victory in the Grand Prix on Sunday. Norris won the São Paulo Grand Prix in particularly challenging weather conditions, with rain present at the start and returning during the closing stages of the race. During the event, all drivers used both Intermediate and Soft tyres.
Temperatures remained low throughout the day, with the track reaching just 16 degrees C at the start. All drivers elected to begin the race on Intermediates, as the circuit was wet and light rain continued to fall during the opening laps. After 14 laps, the first drivers began to pit to switch to Soft tyres.
Norris came into the pits on lap 16 and then completed a 33-lap stint on the Soft. He later made a further stop for a new set of the same compound, which he used for only 13 laps. The 2025 World Champion was then forced to return to the pit lane for another set of Intermediates after rain began to fall again over Interlagos.
Second-placed Max Verstappen and third-placed Isack Hadjar adopted a similar strategy, using one set of Intermediates, two sets of Softs and then another new set of Intermediates. This approach enabled them to join Norris on the podium.
The two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, finished fourth and fifth respectively. Their results secured the points needed for the German team to clinch the Constructors' World Championship title. Russell and Charles Leclerc also completed the highest number of laps on a single set of Soft tyres, with both the Briton and the Monegasque managing 45 laps on the same set.
The pair opted for a different strategy compared to the top three finishers, stopping on lap 16 to switch from Intermediates to Softs. After completing 45 laps on that set, they fitted a second set of Soft tyres for the final ten laps of the race.
Today, all Pirelli personnel present at Interlagos wore a special uniform to celebrate the company's history in Formula 1 and its long and significant association with the championship. Pirelli is the tyre supplier with the greatest number of Grand Prix appearances and, this year, reached the record for the highest number of pole positions achieved on its tyres. After last weekend's Grand Prix, it also added another chapter to that story by becoming the tyre supplier with the most victories in Formula 1 history. The uniform was inspired by the first shirt worn by Pirelli personnel when the company returned to the championship in 2011.
Dario Marrafuschi: "Variable weather conditions had a decisive impact on race strategy. Rain before the start left the track with markedly different levels of grip around the lap, making the Intermediate tyre the only viable choice for the opening stint. In these transitional conditions, as the circuit moved from wet to dry, the Intermediate delivered consistent performance and, as the track continued to evolve, tyre lap times progressively closed in on the crossover point for the slicks. We observed predominantly thermal degradation, accompanied by episodes of graining caused by the drying surface, particularly on the right-hand side of the car.
Once conditions allowed the switch to dry-weather tyres, the Soft confirmed itself as the preferred choice for every team. The relatively low air and track temperatures helped keep degradation under control, to the extent that wear became the main factor to manage in many cases. Some teams were evaluating the possibility of reaching the finish without making any further stops, but the return of rain in the closing stages once again reshuffled the strategic picture. Overall, both the Intermediate and the Soft performed in line with expectations, offering teams several strategic options in a race defined by uncertainty over the conditions.
Congratulations to Mercedes on securing the ninth Constructors' Championship in its history. It is an achievement that reflects the team's technical excellence and the quality of work carried out throughout the season, further enhanced by the Drivers' World Championship title secured by Kimi Antonelli last weekend."
