Hamilton joins Mercedes on flight home after former team clinches ninth constructors' title

Lewis Hamilton will travel home from São Paulo aboard the same flight as Mercedes after his former team clinched a ninth constructors’ championship at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday — a detail team principal Toto Wolff revealed with a wry sense of humour in the post-race media session.

Mercedes secured the title when George Russell and rookie Kimi Antonelli finished fourth and fifth at Interlagos, moving the team beyond Ferrari’s reach with three races still to run. Hamilton, now in his debut season with Ferrari, started from the back of the grid following a power unit penalty and recovered to ninth.

Wolff confirmed that full celebrations would wait until the team returned to Britain, and acknowledged the unusual travel arrangement with characteristic candour. “It’s another flight, another overnight flight. George is going to be on that overnight flight, so maybe we’ll have a drink. A constructors’ drink,” Wolff told reporters. “For the good and the bad. We’re going to take Lewis also, so we’ll see. Maybe he needs one for the bad. And then we’ll figure out what we do about the party coming back to the UK.”

Hamilton spent 12 seasons at Mercedes before joining Ferrari for 2025. During that spell with the Brackley-based outfit he won six of his seven world championships and was part of eight consecutive constructors’ title-winning campaigns between 2014 and 2021. Sunday’s triumph is Mercedes’ ninth constructors’ crown in total.

Despite the bittersweet circumstances, Hamilton was gracious in his response. “Well done to Mercedes for winning the constructors’ championship and the incredible year they’ve had overall. Truly deserved,” he wrote on Instagram after the race.

The 40-year-old remains in contention for second place in the drivers’ standings. Max Verstappen leads that battle with 279 points, while Russell sits third on 262 and Hamilton is fourth on 261. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris follow in fifth and sixth with 249 and 246 points respectively, leaving the fight for the runner-up position open heading into the final three rounds.