Antonelli Clinches F1 Title as Mercedes Eyes Team Crown in São Paulo
Kimi Antonelli has won the Formula 1 drivers' championship before the São Paulo Grand Prix, according to BBC Sport. He is the first driver to win the title with the number 12. Earlier this week Reuters reported that he will not use the champion's number one next year.
The bigger fight now belongs to the teams. The constructors' championship is the title for teams, scored by adding up the points of both cars in each team. Mercedes won seven of the first eight races of the 2026 season. On Sunday, Mercedes needs to outscore Ferrari by three points to secure the team title, according to the BBC. Sky Sports put Ferrari 126 points behind with four rounds remaining, and said only Ferrari can still deny Mercedes.
The São Paulo Grand Prix is round 20 of the season. It is held at the Autodromo José Carlos Pace, a 4.309km lap that the cars will cover 71 times, for a race distance of 305.879km. Lights out is at 1700 GMT, which is 1400 local time, on Sunday 8 November.
Ferrari's weekend has been difficult since Mexico. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc tangled on the first lap of the Mexico Grand Prix, losing a possible one-two finish, meaning first and second place. After that race Hamilton said Ferrari had "big problems" and needed "serious talks". On Thursday evening in Brazil, Ferrari held a meeting involving Leclerc and team principal Frederic Vasseur, the man who runs the team, to discuss the clash.
Recent results show how tight the season has been at the top. In the 12 races before São Paulo, Mercedes won six, Red Bull won three, McLaren won two and Ferrari won one. Those numbers are a reminder that the title picture has moved around, even if Mercedes has held the lead for most of the year.
Mercedes' George Russell is working out where his title challenge went wrong, with the aim of fixing it. Antonelli, for his part, said he sees the final races as preparation to defend his title in 2027.
There are 11 teams heading into the weekend. For anyone watching for the first time, the sums are simple: Mercedes needs points, Ferrari needs a result, and the first lights-out on Sunday will start the count.
