Toto Wolff says Mercedes had ‘tough moments’ on road back to constructors’ title

The Silver Arrows clinched their first team crown since 2021 on Sunday in Sao Paulo, a week on from Kimi Antonelli sealing the drivers’ championship.

Wolff led Mercedes to a period of dominance between 2014 and 2021 with eight championships in a row, while Lewis Hamilton won six drivers’ crowns.

But the previous ground-effect era was not a strong one for Mercedes, as Red Bull and McLaren shared the last four titles.

Mercedes hit the ground running for the 2026 regulations and Wolff is proud of his team’s response to their barren spell.

“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,” he said.

“Because 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’s quite difficult to feel.

“I think those last four years were very difficult, getting it wrong and then understanding why it was wrong, and then realising, no, we didn’t understand.

“But we will be looking back in 10 or 20 years, it wasn’t that we were complete losers over those four years because we finished second, third, third, fourth.

“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.

“And the resilience of the team, the people that held together in those tough times, is a factor, I think.

“So it feels really good, sealing those two titles. Not many sports teams have done that after a consecutive run of championships, then a difficult spell and then coming back.”

George Russell endured another tough day on Saturday, furious with his Mercedes team for aborting his final flying lap in qualifying – which he believed cost him pole.

It comes after a period of frustration for the British driver, having watched team-mate Antonelli romp to the title that he was favourite to win amid a string of issues and misfortune.

Russell spun on the pit exit on Sunday but recovered well to finish fourth, as he returned to third in the standings but now 17 points behind Max Verstappen.

“It’s George’s championship today, it’s the constructors’ championship and he’s part of the team and I’m really happy that he can cherish this moment, because we owe it to him,” Wolff added.

“You know, he had it so tough at times and yesterday was a good example. He was absolutely dominating.

“Now we have three races to go, we’re going to go full blast, and he will recover, I have no doubt about that.

“For next year, all the very best sports, people have gone through difficult periods and that’s going to be part of his continued development.”