Five years after its record run ended, Mercedes is back on top of Formula 1. The team clinched the 2026 constructors’ championship at the São Paulo Grand Prix, a week after Kimi Antonelli won the drivers’ title. The Mercedes F1 championship double isn’t just a sporting comeback: it’s a commercial one, at a time when F1 teams have never been worth more.
What happened
Mercedes clinched the 2026 Formula 1 constructors’ championship at the São Paulo Grand Prix, completing a clean sweep of both titles this year. The team didn’t need a win in Brazil: Mercedes came in to Round 20 knowing all they had to do was score three more points than Ferrari to secure the double championship win at Interlagos. With George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finishing P4 and P5, respectively, the job was done, even as Lando Norris beat Max Verstappen to victory in a thrilling wet Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
The gap is now out of reach. Mercedes leads 652 points to 512, and Ferrari can score at most 129 more in the three races left.
A five-year wait, ended
This is a comeback story. It’s Mercedes’ first constructors’ title since 2021, when its record-breaking run of eight consecutive titles ended in the first year of the ground-effect rules, when the team badly got its car design wrong - with the next four titles since Mercedes’ last split between Red Bull and McLaren.
The new rules for 2026 changed everything. Mercedes entered the season’s new engine and aerodynamic regulations as the favourite and duly delivered, winning the first six races of the season. With three races still to play, Mercedes took victories at 12 of the season’s 20 races.
The history books moved too. Mercedes has now moved level with Williams in third for the most F1 constructors’ titles, and team boss Toto Wolff is now tied with Sir Frank Williams on the most Constructors’ titles as an F1 team principal.
The double: a young champion and a winning team
The constructors’ title follows a historic drivers’ championship. Antonelli’s historic Drivers’ title victory at the Mexico City GP last weekend made the Italian the youngest F1 champion ever at just 20 years old.
In our view, that combination is commercially powerful: a winning car and a young, marketable champion who can carry the brand for a decade.
What the title is worth
Prize money. F1 pays teams according to where they finish. Mercedes are estimated to be earning about $140 million in prize money for coming in first in the Constructors’ Championship.
Sponsorship. Winning makes every sponsor’s logo more valuable. Mercedes’ car and drivers’ suits carry partners such as Petronas, Microsoft, IWC and CrowdStrike, and a championship season gives the team a stronger hand at every renewal and every new deal.
Team value. As we wrote this week about Liverpool’s owners and Cadillac, F1 teams have become some of the most sought-after assets in sport. A title-winning team, with the youngest champion in history, is at the very top of that market.
Brand power. For the car company behind the team, a championship is one of the most visible marketing platforms in global sport, showing off its engineering on a world stage, race after race.
What it means for the next era
Mercedes got the new rules right, just as it did in 2014, when it began its run of eight straight titles. The question now is whether 2026 is the start of another dynasty. Rivals will catch up as they learn the new regulations, but Mercedes has a head start, a young champion and the commercial momentum that comes with winning.
The question that matters
Is this a one-season comeback, or the start of Mercedes’ next era of dominance? The double has restored the team’s place at the top of F1, and the money, sponsors and brand value that come with it. Holding on to that position will be the harder challenge.
At The Sports Columnist, we cover the deals, the money and the decisions behind sport. Every game has a second scoreboard, and in 2026, Mercedes is back on top of both.
Sources: Formula 1, ESPN, RacingNews365, GPblog and Athlon Sports reporting, 8 November 2026. Prize money is an estimate.
Read more from The Sports Columnist
→ Kimi Antonelli, youngest F1 champion: what a 20-year-old title is worth
→ Liverpool’s owners are eyeing a stake in Cadillac F1. Why are racing teams becoming investment assets?
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