Toto Wolff says he’s “proud” of Mercedes’ turnaround to win the 2026 Formula 1 Constructors’ Championship and feels very few sports teams have bounced back so quickly.
Mercedes won their ninth constructors’ title on Sunday at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, five years after their last championship, which was their eighth in a row at the time.
Regulation changes in 2022 ended Mercedes’ dominance as they struggled to get on top of the so-called ground effect cars, but they have won the first season of the new 2026 cars, and also wrapped up the Drivers’ Championship earlier this month with Kimi Antonelli.
“The thing is when you are in these difficult moments, like we all are sometimes in our lives, it’s not that easy to keep going,” said Wolff.
“Looking back in retrospect, you’re saying, ‘we needed these tough moments in order to grow as people or to grow as an organisation’. But when you’re down, that is quite difficult to feel.
“I think those last four years were very difficult between getting it wrong, then kind of understanding why it was wrong and then realising no we didn’t understand. That was a bit back and forth.
“But we will be looking back in 10 or 20 years. When you look at the statistics, it wasn’t that we were complete losers over those four years, because we finished second, (second), third, fourth (in the championship), we won races, won many races. So it wasn’t that bad at all when you look at the sheer numbers, but it felt not good.”
Toto Wolff reacts to Mercedes winning the Constructors’ Championship in Brazil
As Wolff points out, Mercedes still won races between 2022 and 2025, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton winning seven Grands Prix between them.
“The resilience of the team, the people that held together in those tough times, is a factor, I think,” continued Wolff.
“It feels really good sealing those two titles. Not many sports teams have done that after consecutive run of championships, then a difficult spell and then coming back, so I’m really proud that we are part of this very small group of teams that have done that in all sports.”
Highlights from the 2026 Sao Paulo Grand Prix
Wolff: Mercedes has 2,500 superstars
Mercedes move level with Williams on nine constructors’ titles – only McLaren (10) and Ferrari (16) have more in Formula 1 history.
Wolff says his pride comes from the hard work in Mercedes’ UK factories in Brackley and Brixworth to produce the best car, on average, this season.
“Sometimes the drivers, or myself, we are so visible because we are in in front of the TV cameras, but there’s so many people that are part of this,” he told Sky Sports F1.
“I always say there are not two superstars, the drivers, but there are 2,500 superstars, all of them delivering a great job, being all of us contributing to such a championship.”
Kimi Antonelli reacts to Mercedes claiming their ninth world constructors championship
Mercedes were unable to finish with either of their drivers on the podium in Brazil as Lando Norris dominated in mixed conditions, while Antonelli and Russell both spun.
Russell finished in fourth, just ahead of Antonelli who says everyone at Mercedes “deserves” this year’s success.
“They have done an incredible year and it’s an amazing group of people, who push every day to do their best and give us the best opportunity to fight for wins and championships,” the Italian told Sky Sports F1.
“This year they have done an incredible job and that’s why they deserve this championship and we will enjoy it together.”
George Russell says Mercedes would’ve liked to win the Constructors’ Championship title in style after both cars finished fourth and fifth respectively
Russell added: “We achieved what we came here to do and won the Constructors’ Championship. We would have liked to have done it in a bit more style, but it’s an incredible achievement for everyone in the team.
“We’ve had four difficult years and the whole organisation put so much work into getting us back into this position. When I joined Mercedes in 2022, we hoped we’d be fighting for championships regularly, so to have gone through that journey and now get back to the top is something we should all be incredibly proud of.”
Formula 1 next hits The Strip for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, live on Sky Sports F1 from November 20-22. Stream Sky Sports with NOW
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