Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Lando Norris sparkles in race that challenged drivers to their very limits
Like Antonelli, team boss Toto Wolff was as focused on the lessons of the day and year as he was on the success.
He reflected on the fact that while Mercedes had dominated the first half of the season, not only have they been caught in the second, but upgrades brought to the car a few races ago did not have the expected effect.
“Look at the last few races,” Wolff said. “We haven’t won.
“Then today at the beginning of the race, Kimi was just storming away. It looked like this could be ours. But the competition has been getting tougher between Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull and ourselves.
“It’s four teams that can win races and will be challenging for a world championship. And I have no doubt that this is going to be very difficult for us next year.”
Wolff is pleased that Mercedes have found their way back to the front after struggling relatively through what was known as the ground-effect era.
But he says he does not expect this to be the start of another dominant era such as they enjoyed with Lewis Hamilton in the last decade.
“Looking back, those last four years were very difficult between getting it wrong and then kind of understanding why it was wrong and then realising, no, we didn’t understand. And that was a bit back and forth,” he said.
“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.
“So it feels really good sealing those two titles. Not many sports teams have done that after consecutive run of championships, then a difficult spell and then coming back.
“It looks like the most maybe competitive era that is about to start, because the teams have become so professional in capability, in resource, that this kind of runaway seasons, I don’t see them any more, whether it’s four in a row or eight in a row. And that is a completely new challenge.
“You can see how quickly it goes from being dominant. And within a few races, you realise that your upgrade doesn’t work and you fall back and you’re just third on the road.
“It’s great for the sport. I wished it was the era of Mercedes and me running away with another few championships. I don’t think it’s the reality.”