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Mercedes secured their ninth Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship in 2026, marking their return to the top of the sport for the first time in five years. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli delivered fourth and fifth-place finishes at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos to seal the team title, coming just one week after Antonelli claimed his maiden Drivers’ Championship in Mexico.
The Silver Arrows’ Early Success
Mercedes’ history in Grand Prix racing dates back well before the establishment of the Formula 1 World Championship in 1950, with the Silver Arrows achieving notable success during the 1930s. The German manufacturer made its World Championship debut at the 1954 French Grand Prix, where Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling secured a one-two finish using the Mercedes W196.
Fangio claimed four races that season to win his second Drivers’ Championship, and returned in 1955 to take another title alongside teammate Stirling Moss. Mercedes won five of the six World Championship Grands Prix they entered that year, including a victory for Moss at the British Grand Prix. However, the manufacturer withdrew from motorsport at the end of 1955 following the Le Mans disaster, concluding their first era of F1 success with two Drivers’ Championships in two seasons before the Constructors’ Championship was introduced in 1958.
Mercedes returned to Formula 1 as an engine supplier in the 1990s, partnering with Sauber before establishing a successful relationship with McLaren, where Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton secured titles using Mercedes power. The manufacturer eventually returned to the grid as a full works team in 2010.
A New Era of Mercedes Dominance
Following Brawn GP’s championship victory in 2009, Mercedes purchased the Brackley-based outfit and entered Formula 1 with seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Rosberg delivered Mercedes’ first works team victory since 1955 at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, ahead of Hamilton joining the team in 2013.
When the turbo-hybrid era began in 2014, Mercedes won 16 of 19 Grands Prix, with Hamilton claiming his second drivers’ title and Mercedes securing their first constructors’ crown. The team repeated the 16-win feat in 2015 before claiming 19 victories out of 21 races in 2016. That season featured an intra-team rivalry that saw Rosberg defeat Hamilton for the World Championship before retiring days later.
Valtteri Bottas joined Mercedes for 2017, partnering with Hamilton as the Briton secured four consecutive drivers’ titles between 2017 and 2020. Hamilton collected six drivers’ titles with Mercedes, Rosberg added one, and the team set a record by winning eight consecutive Constructors’ Championships through 2021, despite Max Verstappen ending their run of drivers’ crowns that year.
Returning to the Top in 2026
The introduction of ground-effect regulations in 2022 created challenges for Mercedes, with Russell taking their sole victory that season in Sao Paulo, followed by a winless campaign in 2023. Although the team claimed four victories and finished fourth in 2024, Hamilton departed for Ferrari at the end of the year after recording 84 Grand Prix victories for Mercedes.
Antonelli joined Russell for the 2025 campaign, helping the team finish second in the standings. Capitalizing on new technical regulations for 2026, Russell opened the season with a victory in Australia, while Antonelli secured his maiden win in China. By the time the paddock reached Brazil, Mercedes had collected 12 Grand Prix victories from 19 races.
Team Principal Toto Wolff noted the significance of the achievement after four challenging seasons, stating, “We’ve taken a few years to be back on the top spot. Not many teams have been able to come back from such a situation.” Wolff added, “And it just shows that, you know, the great work, the great people that we have in our organisation. And it’s fantastic to be among them.”
