Mercedes Chase Constructors' Title at Interlagos

Kimi Antonelli is enjoying becoming the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history, but his team Mercedes still has a constructors' championship to win. The team could claim that trophy this weekend at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo. The 20-year-old Italian sealed his title last Sunday in Mexico.

Mercedes, with teammate George Russell, leads Ferrari by 126 points with four races left. If it extends its advantage by four more points in Sunday's race, it will be champion for the first time since 2021. However, Ferrari has scored more points than Mercedes over the last four races and fell back after shooting itself in the foot in Mexico.

In Mexico, Lewis Hamilton took his first pole position since 2023. Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc collided on the first lap, which opened the way for Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who went on to win the race. Leclerc and his wife Alexandra announced on Tuesday that their daughter Bianca had been born. Leclerc will not attend Thursday's media day, and Ferrari's young driver Dino Beganovic will take his place in Friday's first practice session.

Hamilton will make his 400th start this weekend. Hamilton and Verstappen have both won three times at Interlagos. Verstappen has won three of the last four races to move up to second in the overall standings, and two of those wins came from pole position.

Brazil is the final leg of a three-event Grand Prix series spanning two consecutive weekends. Last year's race was run in sprint format, but this year it will follow the traditional format. Rain and sudden storms always pose a risk, so the weather is unpredictable. Antonelli praised the support shown by Brazil. He also spent time with the Senna family this week. Antonelli will wear a special helmet in the race to honour Brazilian legend and three-time world champion Ayrton Senna, and to mark the 35th anniversary of Senna's emotional home victory at Interlagos. Senna also used number 12 on his car.