Mercedes finally caught Ferrari on Sunday. The 251st victory for a Mercedes-powered car in Formula 1 came at the new Madring circuit, where Antonelli held off Max Verstappen and Lando Norris after a Virtual Safety Car reshaped the race in the German manufacturer’s favor.
The milestone puts Mercedes level with the Scuderia at the top of Formula 1’s all-time engine-builders list, according to RaceFans. It is a benchmark Ferrari has held since 2004, when the Italians overtook Ford at the head of the standings.
Two very different routes to 251
Mercedes have hit the mark despite contesting far fewer grands prix than Ferrari. The brand raced in the 1950s, then withdrew for four decades after the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours disaster before returning as an engine supplier to McLaren in the 1990s.
The 251 victories have come with several different constructors. The Mercedes works team accounts for the largest share, with McLaren adding more than 100 further wins in partnership with the manufacturer. Brawn GP in 2009 and Racing Point in 2020 sit on the same list.
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Ferrari’s own total is nearly all in-house. Only one customer team has ever won with a Ferrari engine, Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
Antonelli closes in on the title
For the Italian, the Madring win was his eighth of 2026 and the eighth of his career. That puts him alongside 1967 world champion Denny Hulme, Jacky Ickx and Daniel Ricciardo on the all-time victory list.
The result also opened his lead in the drivers’ standings to 81 points over Mercedes teammate George Russell, who could do no better than fifth. Antonelli sits on 292 points, with Lewis Hamilton third on 191 and Norris fourth on 186.
“Lando today deserved to win”
The victory itself owed much to circumstance. The Virtual Safety Car for Lance Stroll’s stopped car handed the pit-stop timing to Mercedes and cost Norris the lead after a seven-second stop at McLaren dropped him to fifth.
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Antonelli said as much afterwards.
“It was a very difficult race, not straightforward at all, especially trying to manage tyres,” he told reporters. “It’s good to win, but it doesn’t feel as good because I think Lando today deserved to win.”
Elsewhere the day produced its own footnotes. Russell set his 12th fastest lap, tying Sergio Perez, Alberto Ascari, Jack Brabham, Rene Arnoux and Juan Pablo Montoya. Verstappen’s runner-up finish came on the weekend of his 250th grand prix appearance. Hamilton retired with a brake failure and failed to score for the first time in 2026.
In the constructors’ championship Mercedes lead on 503 points, with Ferrari on 358 and McLaren on 306. The next round is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on 24-26 September.
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