Mercedes collected four podiums in Japan, sharing the third-strongest team-round total in IMS history through the Season 2 finale. The team scored 153 points from ten starts, with one win and five top-five finishes.
JPlanteX won E2, while Rochamoya finished third in D1, FTR Button third in D2 and MilitaryMaple18 third in E1. Three bronze results and one victory formed the four-podium set.
Two five-podium rounds remain above
Ferrari's five-podium Jeddah and Brazil rounds shared first in the comparison. Mercedes joined Ferrari's Silverstone and Imola rounds on the four-podium tier displayed beneath them.
Podium count did not determine the weekly order. McLaren scored 194, Ferrari 170 and VCARB 157, leaving Mercedes fourth by four points despite matching McLaren's four trophy positions.
One victory changes the podium shape
JPlante's E2 win supplied 31 points, while the three third places contributed 60 between them. More than half of Mercedes' 153-point total therefore came from its podium quartet.
Season 2 ended with Mercedes owning a record-book podium count and the mild indignity of fourth place in the round table. Both facts are true; together they explain the weekend better than either alone.
