From Fangio to a ninth crown: Mercedes' long road back to F1's summit

At the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli finished fourth and fifth—enough to secure Mercedes' ninth Constructors' Championship, its first since 2021. The crown puts Mercedes level with Williams on nine, behind Ferrari on 16 and McLaren on 10. It returns the team to the top of the standings for the first time in five years.

Mercedes made its World Championship debut at the 1954 French Grand Prix, where Juan Manuel Fangio and Karl Kling finished one-two. Fangio won four races and his second Drivers' Championship that year, then another with Mercedes in 1955. The Constructors' Championship itself was not introduced until 1958.

Mercedes' first F1 spell ended after the 1955 season, overshadowed by the Le Mans disaster in which driver Pierre Levegh and more than 80 spectators died. The manufacturer withdrew from motorsport at year's end. It returned as an engine supplier in the 1990s, first with Sauber and then with McLaren, but did not return to the grid as a full works team until 2010.

After buying the Brackley-based outfit following Brawn GP's championship-winning 2009 campaign, Mercedes returned as a works team. Early results were mixed, but Nico Rosberg gave the team its first works-team victory since 1955 at the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton joined him in 2013 as Formula 1 prepared for major regulation changes.

Mercedes seized the 2014 turbo-hybrid era, winning 16 of 19 Grands Prix and beginning a record run of eight consecutive Constructors' titles through 2021. Hamilton won six Drivers' Championships with the team and Rosberg one. Max Verstappen ended Mercedes' run of drivers' crowns in 2021, but the team still took the Constructors' title.

The 2022 ground-effect regulations proved challenging. Russell's victory in São Paulo was Mercedes' only win that year; 2023 was its first winless season since 2011. The team won four times in 2024 but finished fourth in the standings. Hamilton left for Ferrari at the end of that year, and 18-year-old Antonelli joined Russell for 2025, when Mercedes finished second.

Mercedes capitalised on another rule change in 2026. Russell opened the season with a win in Australia; Antonelli earned his first victory in China and became a championship contender. By the time the paddock reached Brazil, Mercedes had claimed 12 wins from 19 Grands Prix, while Antonelli had already secured the Drivers' Championship in Mexico.

After four challenging seasons, Toto Wolff said, ‘We've taken a few years to be back on the top spot.’ He has overseen all nine Mercedes Constructors' Championships, equalling Sir Frank Williams' record for titles as a team principal.

Mercedes' modern history is not one uninterrupted dynasty but two title eras separated by the 2022 ground-effect reset. The 2014 hybrid rules began the eight-title run; Mercedes struggled under the 2022 rules, then capitalised on the next major change in 2026. The ninth crown is a comeback, not a continuation of the old streak.