Brazilian Grand Prix

Interlagos Track guide

Interlagos, official track name of Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, is one of the few tracks that run anti-clockwise in Formula 1. The start/finish starts halfway up the pit straight which is the first DRS sector, going uphill to the first corner.

Turns 1 and 2 and known as ‘Senna’s S’ after the Brazilian driver, a tough combination of turns that have different length and radius. These lead on to the long turn 3 before the second main straight (Reta Oposta) and DRS sector of the track.

Reta Oposta leads to ‘Descida do Lago’ of the left turns of 4 and 5 before the straight climb to the back of the pit buildings. Next follows a difficult section that involves various small turns and elevation changes of turns from 6 to 12.

Turn 6 is a downhill and right into turn 7 which is another right before turn 8. The right turn 8 goes into the downhill and then back uphill left of turn 9 before the still accelerating turn 10 leads to the right-hand hairpin of turn 11.

From turn 11 drivers are flat-out downhill through the left of turn 12 towards turn 13. Turn thirteen is a sharp uphill left before heading onto the high-speed finish of the lap.

Drivers are then flat-out through 14 and 15 before coming back onto the pit straight again, with many cars using it as a way to gain speed through DRS to overtake at turn 1.

Race history

The first three races of the Brazilian Grand Prix were won by home natives Emerson Fittipaldi, 1973/74, and Carlos Pace in 1975.

Jacarepagua held a race in 1978 as they wanted a race to be held closer to the city along with the rise of Nelson Piquet. Jacarepagua then held the race from 1981 – 1989 until a $15 million investment was made into Interlagos to shorten the track and smooth over the circuit.

With the emergence of Ayrton Senna Interlagos became the host of the Brazilian Grand Prix again in 1990 and has hosted it since. Alain Prost won the first race back in 1990, his last of six Brazilian Grand Prix victories.

Home native Senna won the next year in 1991 and again in 1993 before Schumacher in 1994/95 and again in 2000/02. Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralf shared a row on the starting grid for the first time in their careers in 2001.

Treacherous conditions in 2003 made for a memorable race in which Giancarlo Fisichella won in his Jordan. Heavy rain just before and during the race caused issues with several drivers spinning out. Fernando Alonso crashed out, blocking the circuit in the process and after much confusion the win was eventually handed to Fisichella.

In 2008 Lewis Hamilton became the youngest Formula 1 World Champion at the time. Felipe Massa won the race and Hamilton just finished fifth, passing Timo Glock on the penultimate corner to gain enough points to secure the championship.

Jenson Button finished in the same position a year later to secure his only Championship. In 2016 we saw a remarkable overtake from Max Verstappen on Nico Rosberg in the wet weather, going around the outside at turn 3.

The Brazilian GP used to make for an entertaining finale to the Formula 1 season. Should it return as the final race?

Last year at Interlagos

It was redemption for Max Verstappen at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, with the Dutchman impressively winning at Interlagos after getting denied a win in 2018 after that famous clash with Esteban Ocon.

Verstappen started on pole position but it was all but a straightforward win for him, having to get past Lewis Hamilton not once but twice during the race to regain his lead. It was pole position number two (or three, depending if you count Mexico) and win number three for Verstappen in what was his most successful year of his career.

Behind the Red Bull is where things got crazy. Pierre Gasly, written off by many after his demotion to Toro Rosso, unbelievably finished second to get his maiden podium. He drag-raced Hamilton to the finish line and just about held on, flexing the muscle of the Honda engine. 

That same Hamilton crossed the line in third but got a five-second penalty which dropped him multiple places. He tried to overtake third-placed Alex Albon, another driver who was on for his maiden podium but collided with the Thai rookie, spinning him around. Because of Hamilton’s penalty, Carlos Sainz got moved up to third, earning the Spaniard his maiden podium in what was a crazy ending.

More drama came five laps before the end when the two Ferraris collided and took each other out on the back straight. It was the boiling point of what was already a very tense relationship between the two teammates as they both retired. What a race!

What does the race weekend of the Brazilian Grand Prix look like?

Press conferences are scheduled for November 12th with practice sessions taking place one day later on the 13th. FP1 is at 14:00 GMT followed by FP2 at 18:00. Qualifying, on the 14th, starts at 18:00 with the race on Sunday taking place at 17:10.

What time does the Brazilian Grand Prix start?

As in previous years, the Grand Prix of Brazil can be followed live in the live blog of GPblog from half an hour before the start of the race. The start time of the Brazilian Grand Prix is 17:10 GMT and the race can also be followed live on Sky Sports F1 as well as all practice sessions and qualifying in the build-up to the race.