Mercedes pit wall says Ferrari’s São Paulo struggles eased constructors’ title pressure
Mercedes arrived at the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix needing a clean race at Interlagos to officially wrap up the constructors’ championship, but rain made the Brazilian round a turbulent wet-dry affair for the Brackley squad. Both George Russell and newly crowned drivers’ champion Kimi Antonelli spun, creating a stressful environment in the cockpits. On the pit wall, technical director James Allison and deputy team principal Bradley Lord said the team never felt pressured into conservative points-watching, because closest rival Ferrari was putting in a disastrous performance further down the order.
Speaking on the NU Silver Arrows Radio Show, Allison was blunt when asked whether the pit wall had to shift strictly to championship maths: Ferrari were having such a rubbish race that even Mercedes’ dramas in front of them never made it look as if the red cars would trouble them. Lewis Hamilton produced a brilliant launch from 20th on the grid in his Ferrari, but the team’s pace quickly evaporated in the tricky conditions. Lord backed that assessment, saying Hamilton’s amazing start was followed by progress then fall-backs — overtaking and then being passed again — and that Mercedes were always ahead of the Ferraris on the road, so there was no point in the race when they would not have taken the championship.
The final classification confirmed that stance. Lando Norris won for McLaren, while Mercedes secured the 2026 constructors’ title with Russell fourth and Antonelli recovering to fifth. Ferrari’s haul was meagre: Charles Leclerc eighth, one place ahead of Hamilton in ninth. The Scuderia’s inability to capitalise on Mercedes’ scrappy race allowed Toto Wolff’s squad to seal the crown with three rounds to spare.
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