Nov 8 (Reuters) - Mercedes completed a Formula One title double in Brazil on Sunday, adding the constructors' crown to Kimi Antonelli's drivers' championship won in Mexico City last weekend and celebrating with champagne and the whole race team dancing on the podium.
While 20-year-old Italian Antonelli's success in becoming the youngest ever champion will have grabbed more headlines, the team title is nonetheless meaningful for what it brings in financial rewards and Mercedes have had four lean years since their last in 2021.
The constructors' title is where the team gets its reward, a greater share of the sport's prize pot and prestige for sponsors, and is the trigger for staff bonuses that affect everyone working long days at theBrackley and Brixworth factories in England.
"They're all different, with different challenges and situations," said team principal and co-owner Toto Wolff ahead of the race atInterlagos when asked about the many titles he has now presided over.
"The drivers' was very special this year, but the constructors' is obviously the one that pays the bonuses. So, it's something that is very, very important for all of the organisation.
"You know -- you pay the mortgage, the (new) kitchen, or the holiday, or the school of the children. And the driver is also very aware of that."
Mercedes now have 652 points to Ferrari's 512, an insurmountable lead of 140 with only 129 still to be won.
FOUR DIFFICULT YEARS
According to some estimates, McLarenreceived $175 million for winning the title last season.
Mercedes last clinched the double in 2020, with 2021 their last constructors' title -- the end of a record run of eight in a row -- and have fought back from a difficult period with a bouncing car and wins in short supply.
"We've had four pretty difficult years. To come back, it feels as nice as we all thought it would feel," said Mercedes trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.
"There's so many of the team members who have joined since we had the period ending in 2021, so they won't have experienced this."
Red Bull won in 2022 and 2023 and Mercedes-powered McLaren the next two, clinching their own double with Sunday's race winnerLando Norris last year.
Mercedes have now equalled 1980s and 1990s champions Williams on nine constructors' titles, behind only Ferrari (16) and McLaren (10).
The seeds of the 2026 championship success were sown early in the season, with Mercedes winning the first six races and Antonelli five in a row.
STRONG START TO THE SEASON
"It was a very strong beginning of the season and that kind of got us over the line. These last few races have been challenging at times, today it was difficult, but overall I'm so proud for the organisation," said Wolff on Sunday.
"We have taken a few years to be back at the top spot. Not many teams have been able to come back from such a situation and it just shows the great work, the great people we have in our organisation and it's great to be among them."
Sunday could mark the start of a new streak of Mercedes domination, or be simply the reward for the team starting the sport's new engine rules era with the best overall package before others caught up.
Red Bull, with their own in-house engine, won three of the four races before Brazil while second-placed Ferrari outscored Mercedes in the four racesimmediately leading up to Interlagos. The competition is out there and ready to step up next year.
"I don't think in this day and age, with the professionalism that teams have now, you can replicate what we did, eight championships in a row," said Wolff.
"There's three or four teams that will be competing for a championship next year and it could go either way."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in LondonEditing by Toby Davis)
