Interlagos Preview: Mercedes Eye the Double as Hamilton Hits 400

Formula 1 has its champion, but Interlagos still has a title to hand out. Kimi Antonelli sealed the drivers' crown in Mexico City; this Sunday, 8 November, his Mercedes team can add the constructors' championship at the São Paulo Grand Prix, the last of three races on consecutive weekends, according to Reuters.

The race runs over 71 laps of the 4.309 km Autódromo José Carlos Pace and starts at 14:00 local time, according to McLaren's preview. Unlike last year there is no Sprint: it is a traditional weekend, with qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

What Mercedes needs

Mercedes lead Ferrari 630 points to 504 with four rounds left, having won 12 of the 19 races so far. Reuters reports that the team clinches its first constructors' title since 2021 if it extends that 126-point lead by four points on Sunday; Brazil's Grande Prêmio, counting the 129 points still available after Interlagos, puts the figure at three. Either way, a strong Mercedes afternoon settles it, although Ferrari have outscored Mercedes over the last four races.

The fight for second

With the drivers' title gone, the real scrap is for runner-up. Max Verstappen (261 points) leads Lewis Hamilton (259), George Russell (250) and Charles Leclerc (245), according to the standings after Mexico. Verstappen has won three of the last four races, and he and Hamilton have each won three times at Interlagos, Reuters notes. Further back, McLaren arrive with new front and rear wings, 17 points behind Red Bull in the fight for third among the teams.

Names to watch in São Paulo

• Lewis Hamilton makes his 400th Grand Prix start, after taking his first pole since 2023 in Mexico City.
• Rafael Câmara, the Formula 2 championship leader, makes his F1 debut for Haas in front of his home crowd, replacing Esteban Ocon.
• Gabriel Bortoleto's Audi team sits four points behind Haas in the fight for seventh among the constructors.
• Antonelli races with a helmet honouring Ayrton Senna, 35 years after Senna's home win at Interlagos.
• Leclerc and his wife welcomed a daughter, Bianca, on Tuesday; Dino Beganovic drives his Ferrari in first practice, and Colton Herta runs for Cadillac.

Rain, soft tyres and a likely Safety Car

The weather may decide more than the maths. A Williams briefing carried by GrandPrix247 points to showers around Friday practice, more persistent rain on Saturday afternoon and a possibly cool, wet race. Pirelli brings its three softest compounds, C3 to C5, one step softer than in 2025, and a two-stop race is expected if it stays dry.

One title is settled and another is close. Second place, and the sky over São Paulo, are not.

History favours chaos: the last Interlagos Grand Prix without a Safety Car was in 2018. Lights out is at 14:00 in São Paulo (17:00 UTC) on Sunday, and Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi then close the season.