FIA president Jean Todt was among the first to congratulate Toto Wolff for Mercedes' fifth successive Constructors' title, a tally that matches the record achieved by Ferrari under Todt's leadership.
The House of Maranello collected six team titles between 1999 and 2004, during the Schumacher golden years, but Ferrari and Mercedes are the only outfits to have accumulated both the Constructors' and Drivers' titles for five years in succession.
"He said ‘it is an honour to welcome you to the five times club’. Which is unbelievable to even hear that. I am speechless," Wolff told the media in Brazil on Sunday.
Wolff conceded however that this year's campaign had been the hardest one to win for the Brackley crews, thanks to Ferrari's ever-present threat.
"It was the most difficult and that’s why the relief now is the most I’ve ever felt in the team," he said.
"We had such a horrible race today with the perfect end result, with Lewis winning and us winning the constructors’ championship."
Indeed, tensions were running high in the Mercedes camp as the team's engineers had identified an issue with Lewis Hamilton's engine, and even predicted its imminent failure every other lap.
"God only knows how you can fix hardware that's just about to break and make the car finish," said a relieved Wolff. "That race was just a nightmare until the chequered flag came down, and everything broke loose."
Mercedes' return on investment since the advent of the hybrid era in Formula 1 has been quite extraordinary, with Lewis Hamilton achieving a 50 percent win-rate since 2014!
©Mercedes
The first half of the 2018 season saw Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel at the helm thanks to the qualities and efficiency of its SF71-H car, but the Silver Arrows team battled its way back as the pair drew level before Hamilton left the Italian squad and Vettel in his dust.
"That is why this championship feels best, because we had a hell of a fight on our hands throughout the season with Ferrari," said Wolff.
"And being able to win a fifth consecutive championship is something we wouldn’t have dreamt of six years ago. In our wildest dreams that wouldn’t have come to mind.
"Equalling a Ferrari record that seemed unachievable is something I feel so grateful and fortunate", he added.
"I can remember before I joined Formula 1, those Ferrari years with Jean at the helm and Michael and many others that contributed to the team’s success was something I really looked up to and admired."
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