Wolff proud of Mercedes’ return to the top of Formula 1

Toto Wolff says he is proud of Mercedes’ turnaround after the team clinched the constructors’ world title on Sunday at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It is the team’s ninth crown, five years after its previous one, which completed a run of eight consecutive titles. Wolff sees the return to the top as a rare achievement: “Not many sports teams have done it.”

The team boss stressed that the road back was not straightforward. “When you are in difficult moments, as we all are sometimes in our lives, it is not that easy to keep going,” he said. In his view, looking back can give hardship meaning, even if that perspective is hard to find while going through it. He described the past four years as a period of repeated misjudgements: the team first got things wrong, then thought it understood why, before realising it had not yet grasped the reasons.

That stretch was not without results. From 2022 to 2025, Mercedes still won races, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton taking seven Grands Prix between them. Wolff acknowledged that the numbers can make the period look less bleak than it felt at the time: Mercedes finished second, second, third and then fourth in the championship, while also winning races. “When you look at the numbers, it wasn’t that bad at all, but it didn’t feel good,” he said.

Wolff believes the team’s ability to stay together through difficult times helped its recovery. Wolff says the season’s strongest car on average reflects the efforts of Mercedes teams in Brackley and Brixworth, a source of pride for him. “Sometimes the drivers, or myself, are so visible in front of the TV cameras, but so many people are part of this,” he said. Rather than focus on two star performers, he points to 2,500 people delivering: all of them contributed to the championship.

The constructors’ crown came alongside the drivers’ title, secured earlier this month by Kimi Antonelli. It also marks Mercedes’ return after the difficulties caused by the 2022 rule changes and the challenge of getting to grips with ground-effect cars. The team has won the first season of the new 2026 cars. With nine titles, Mercedes draws level with Williams; only McLaren, with 10, and Ferrari, with 16, have more in Formula 1 history.

The title was sealed after a difficult Sao Paulo Grand Prix for Mercedes: neither driver finished on the podium, while Lando Norris dominated in changing conditions. Russell finished fourth, just ahead of Antonelli. Russell said the team would have preferred to wrap up the title in more stylish fashion, but called it an incredible achievement for everyone involved. Antonelli also said the group deserved the success.