All three podium places had gone by the time George Russell and Kimi Antonelli crossed the line at Interlagos. A little later, the Mercedes mechanics were up there dancing. Fourth and fifth in São Paulo secured the team’s ninth constructors’ championship. A week after Antonelli won the drivers’ title in Mexico, Mercedes had both trophies.

What Mercedes needed in Brazil

Ferrari arrived 126 points behind and had to keep the deficit below 129 to stay in contention. A tie at the end of the season would favour Mercedes on race wins. Outscoring Ferrari by three points at Interlagos would therefore settle the championship before Las Vegas.

For a while, Antonelli looked set to clinch it with a win. He took the lead from second on the grid and built a gap over Lando Norris, only to spin at Turn 1 after changing to slicks. Russell had a scare of his own when he spun at the pit exit and clipped the wall as he tried to point the car back in the right direction.

Russell was the first of the pair to take intermediates when the rain returned. As he caught his team-mate, the pit wall ordered a swap. The two cars brought home 22 points. Charles Leclerc’s penalty for making contact with Liam Lawson left Ferrari with six, courtesy of eighth for Leclerc and ninth for Lewis Hamilton. The gap stood at 142 with a maximum of 129 still available.

The run that built the lead

Toto Wolff traced the title back to the opening rounds. Mercedes started the season with consecutive one-two finishes and won the first six Grands Prix, five of them with Antonelli. The pair finished first and second again at Monza. By the time they reached Brazil, Antonelli had nine victories and Russell three. After 20 rounds they have 652 points to Ferrari’s 510.

Mercedes had been waiting for this moment since the last of eight consecutive constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021. Red Bull and McLaren each spent two seasons at the top in the intervening years. A ninth championship brings Mercedes level with Williams on the all-time list, behind only Ferrari on 16 and McLaren on 10. The last time Mercedes won both world titles was 2020, with Hamilton taking the drivers’ crown.

Sources · Reuters · Formula 1 · RacingNews365

Archive photograph from Austin: Lubomir Asenov / LAP.bg.