Mercedes pitwall admits floundering Ferraris relieved title pressure in São Paulo
When the rain falls at Interlagos, chaos usually follows. For Mercedes, the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix was a turbulent affair. The Brackley-based squad arrived in Brazil needing to execute a clean race to officially wrap up the constructors’ championship, but quickly found themselves battling a highly unpredictable wet-dry track.
Both George Russell and newly crowned drivers’ champion Kimi Antonelli suffered spins during the race, leading to a stressful environment inside the cockpits. But on the Mercedes pitwall, the focus remained surprisingly clear of title permutations.
Speaking on the NU Silver Arrows Radio Show podcast, Mercedes technical director James Allison and deputy team principal Bradley Lord revealed that the team never felt pressured to conservatively points-watch. The reason was simple: their closest rival, Ferrari, was putting in a disastrous performance further down the order.
George Russell, Mercedes
Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images
When asked if the pitwall ever had to shift its focus strictly to the championship maths, Allison interjected with a blunt assessment of the Maranello outfit’s pace.
“Also, Ferrari were having such a rubbish race; even our dramas in front of them were not really making it look like, at any stage, the red cars were going to trouble us,” Allison stated.
Ferrari’s faltering pace
While Lewis Hamilton managed a brilliant initial launch from 20th on the grid in his Ferrari, the team’s pace quickly evaporated in the tricky conditions. The lack of a sustained threat from Maranello allowed Mercedes to focus entirely on its own recovery drives.
Lord immediately backed up Allison’s assessment, noting that the Mercedes strategists were never genuinely concerned about losing their grip on the constructors’ crown.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
Photo by: Colin McMaster / LAT Images via Getty Images
“Yeah, Lewis had that amazing start… [but] they were sort of making progress and then falling back, and you saw them overtaking and then being passed again,” Lord explained. “So I don’t think there was any point in the race where we actually wouldn’t have taken the championship regardless, because we were always ahead of the Ferraris on the road.”
The final classification completely validated the pitwall’s relaxed stance. While Lando Norris took the victory for McLaren, Mercedes successfully secured the 2026 constructors’ championship with Russell finishing fourth and Antonelli recovering to fifth.
Meanwhile, Ferrari walked away with a meagre points haul. Charles Leclerc crossed the line in eighth place, just one position ahead of Hamilton in ninth. The Scuderia’s inability to capitalise on Mercedes’ scrappy race ultimately allowed Toto Wolff’s squad to seal the title with three rounds to spare.
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