Mercedes officially secured the 2026 Formula 1 Constructors’ World Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but it was Lando Norris who claimed victory at Interlagos. Despite Mercedes once again possessing the fastest car, McLaren capitalised on its rival’s mistakes to return to winning ways. For Ferrari, meanwhile, one of the most difficult weekends of the season offered just a single consolation: confirmation that the SF-26 has made encouraging progress in wet conditions.
The Silver Arrows finally ended their constructors’ title drought stretching back to 2021, completing a remarkable recovery from the difficulties of the previous technical era. Ferrari experienced a very different afternoon, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc struggling to recover from their grid penalties as a lack of straight-line speed and tyre-management problems undermined their race. Even so, the car’s improved behaviour in the rain provided one reason for optimism.
Mercedes crowned F1 constructors’ champion after remarkable turnaround
At Interlagos, Mercedes mathematically secured its first Constructors’ Championship since 2021, bringing an end to a period of frustration under the ground-effect regulations that the German manufacturer never truly mastered.
Ambition and innovation had never disappeared from Brackley. The futuristic but ultimately unsuccessful zero-sidepod W13 of 2022 demonstrated the team’s willingness to pursue unconventional technical solutions. What Mercedes lacked was the ability to bring every element together, a crisis that eventually prompted a reorganisation of its working methods.
Those difficulties paved the way for James Allison’s return as technical director, with Simone Resta joining as his deputy. The departure of Lewis Hamilton and arrival of Andrea Kimi Antonelli also marked a major transition. The young Italian’s rapid development owes much to the team’s approach, particularly Toto Wolff’s willingness to nurture his talent and remain patient through the inevitable mistakes of inexperience.
Then came the outstanding Mercedes W17, powered not necessarily by the most powerful engine on the grid, but arguably by the most complete power unit package.
Much as they did in 2014, Mercedes’ engine specialists at Brixworth interpreted the new technical regulations particularly effectively, identifying opportunities within the rules to extract additional performance. One of the most important areas involved the regulations governing compression ratios.
During the biggest technical revolution Formula 1 has experienced in three decades, Mercedes proved better prepared than its competitors, mastering the exceptionally complex energy-management software required by the new power units.
The W17’s superiority, however, cannot be attributed to its engine alone. Mercedes also produced an excellent chassis, having made an early investment in its 2026 challenger during 2025 while Red Bull and McLaren were still fighting for the championship.
The turnaround demonstrates how today’s difficulties can create the foundations for tomorrow’s success, a lesson particularly relevant to Ferrari following the questions surrounding its long-standing power unit deficit and technical decisions.
Lando Norris takes Brazilian GP victory as McLaren improvements pay off
The driver who shone brightest on a gloomy Sunday at Interlagos was Lando Norris, who returned McLaren to victory after a difficult two-month period.
McLaren benefited from the absence of some of its closest rivals at the front of the starting grid, with Max Verstappen and both Ferrari drivers carrying penalties. Nevertheless, Lando Norris deserves considerable credit for delivering an almost flawless weekend.
His only significant blemish came at the start. Despite beginning from pole position, the former world champion dropped to third behind Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls, losing valuable time and potentially compromising his race.
However, McLaren made an excellent strategic decision by switching to intermediate tyres earlier, allowing Lando Norris to close on Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Mercedes driver was already struggling with his car, and the pressure eventually contributed to a mistake.
Throughout the Brazilian Grand Prix, Lando Norris once again demonstrated his ability in mixed conditions, maintaining consistent pace while avoiding costly errors.
The McLaren MCL40 also showed no major difficulty bringing its tyres up to temperature during the cold Brazilian afternoon. Its dry-weather pace remained highly competitive, second only to Mercedes.
At Interlagos, McLaren successfully found the car’s narrow operating window, helped by updates to the wings and floor. Those developments increased downforce while making the Woking team’s notoriously difficult car more manageable.
McLaren will now be looking for confirmation of that progress during the remaining races, with further competitive performances potentially providing an important morale boost ahead of 2027.
Red Bull drivers outperform the RB22 at Interlagos
Lando Norris was joined on the Brazilian Grand Prix podium by both Red Bull drivers, who delivered performances that arguably exceeded the underlying competitiveness of their machinery.
Max Verstappen produced an extraordinary recovery from the back of the grid, making the difference in wet conditions through his exceptional sensitivity behind the wheel and ability to select alternative racing lines away from the slippery, rubbered-in surface.
The Red Bull RB22’s strong top speed once again proved valuable when gaining positions, particularly in a race where Race Control did not enable overtaking mode until lap 23.
Isack Hadjar also deserves praise for his performance. Without team orders, the French driver would almost certainly have been able to fight Max Verstappen for second place, despite Red Bull appearing to possess only the third-fastest car in Brazil.
Mercedes throws away Brazilian GP victory despite superior race pace
For Mercedes, the celebrations surrounding its constructors’ championship were accompanied by frustration over a race victory that slipped away.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli made an impeccable start, while both Mercedes drivers demonstrated excellent pace in dry conditions. Their performance improved progressively as the race unfolded, eventually establishing an outright benchmark and highlighting the W17’s impressive control of thermal tyre degradation.
However, a sequence of problems and mistakes compromised the team’s result.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli initially struggled to control a car that was pulling towards the right, contributing to two mistakes under braking into the first corner and causing flat spots on his tyres.
His second pit stop came too late relative to his rivals but also proved premature in view of the subsequent return of rain. That sequence forced the Italian into a third stop, during which Mercedes committed an unsafe release.
George Russell, meanwhile, effectively eliminated his own victory chances by spinning in the pit exit lane. The incident dropped him behind slower cars, costing him additional time as he attempted to recover.
Mercedes’ execution in Brazil was clearly below the virtually flawless standard it had established throughout much of the season, and McLaren took full advantage.
Ferrari’s Brazilian GP struggles expose SF-26 weaknesses
For Ferrari, the Brazilian Grand Prix was a weekend to forget, heavily influenced by grid penalties for power unit replacements on both cars.
Lewis Hamilton attempted to recover the lost ground with a spectacular start, but neither the seven-time world champion nor Charles Leclerc could maintain that momentum. Both drivers struggled to gain further positions, hampered by the SF-26’s lack of straight-line speed.
Lewis Hamilton subsequently experienced severe degradation on the intermediate tyres. Ferrari had selected unusually high tyre pressures to accelerate warm-up, but the decision also contributed to rapid overheating.
The Briton deserves credit for being the first driver to call for a switch to slick tyres, recognising the improving track conditions and the opportunity to gain an advantage.
However, he also made a costly mistake towards the end of the race by ignoring Ferrari’s instruction to return to the pits as rain approached. Lewis Hamilton subsequently spun, narrowly avoiding retirement.
Charles Leclerc faced different challenges. The Monegasque struggled to bring the soft tyres into their operating window during the middle stint, although he subsequently benefited from very limited degradation.
Overall, Ferrari displayed little of the competitiveness that had been evident in Mexico. The SF-26’s balance was not ideal, and the team struggled to extract grip from the tyres on the Interlagos asphalt, which is rougher and bumpier than the surface in Mexico City.
These difficulties underline the gap separating Ferrari from the leading contenders, a comparison that can be explored through the Ferrari versus Formula 1 rivals statistics.
Ferrari finds one positive in Brazil: Improved wet-weather performance
Ferrari’s only genuine positive from an otherwise disappointing weekend was the SF-26’s improved behaviour in wet conditions.
Unlike in previous seasons, when the team’s cars frequently lost competitiveness as soon as rain arrived, the current Ferrari no longer appears to suffer such a dramatic drop in performance. The first signs of this improvement had already emerged between the Malaysian and Singapore Grands Prix.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc reported encouraging sensations during wet qualifying, despite Charles Leclerc carrying out extensive experiments with differential settings and wing angles.
The progress was also apparent in the Ferrari SF-26 wet-weather qualifying telemetry, which offered encouraging indications of how the car responds when grip levels are reduced.
During the race, Charles Leclerc produced lap times comparable to those of the leading drivers on intermediate tyres before becoming trapped behind Liam Lawson.
That represents a meaningful change in one of Ferrari’s traditional areas of weakness, but it cannot disguise the disappointment of the overall result.
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc left Interlagos with little to celebrate, while Mercedes officially secured the 2026 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship. The contrast could hardly have been greater: Mercedes completed a remarkable return to the top, while Ferrari was left searching for answers after one of its most frustrating weekends of the season.
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