Mercedes clinch Constructors’ Championship as Antonelli takes fifth in Brazil
NXTbets Pro | Published On: November 9, 2026
Mercedes clinch title
Mercedes wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, sealing the team’s first title since 2021 and its first double championship since 2020. It was Mercedes’ ninth Constructors’ Championship. Antonelli was grateful to be part of Mercedes’ success, even as his own afternoon at Sao Paulo ended with frustration. He said he was grateful to be part of Mercedes’ success and wanted to keep the momentum going through the rest of the season and into 2027. For Mercedes, the championship capped a weekend that delivered the result. For Antonelli, it offered a reminder that the bigger team picture can land alongside a hard personal result on the same day.
Antonelli’s race start
Antonelli’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix began with promise. He started from second on the grid, jumped Lando Norris at the start and briefly led the race. That early move put him in position to challenge at the front and showed the pace Mercedes had underneath him. The race turned once the slick-tire phase began to unfold. Antonelli’s delayed switch to slick tires left him exposed before the critical moment that changed his afternoon. He spun at Turn 1 on lap 20 after the car became unstable, and the lost momentum dropped him out of the fight for a stronger finish. He later described the car as feeling like it was “steering by itself.” He also said it felt strange in left-hand corners and high-speed sections and suspected a rear-geometry problem. Mercedes found no clear problem with his car, but the damage was already done to a race that had started with a sharp launch and brief time in the lead. The fifth-place finish fell well short of what the opening laps had put within reach.
Antonelli’s penalty
Antonelli’s problems deepened in the pit stop phase when he received a five-second penalty for an unsafe release into the path of Franco Colapinto‘s Alpine. The penalty did not change his fifth-place finish behind George Russell, but it added another layer to a demanding race that never settled after the early promise. Antonelli said he was extremely disappointed with the result, a reaction that matched the shape of his day. He had run at the front, lost track position after the tire change sequence and then dealt with a spin that ended his chance to stay in the battle up top. The combination of the spin and penalty made the afternoon harder to absorb. Even so, the weekend still carried major meaning for Mercedes, which left Brazil with the championship secured. For Antonelli, the challenge now is to put the disappointment behind him and close the season with stronger finishes. He made that goal clear himself.
