Preview | Can Verstappen now deal with Mercedes in Brazil?

The Brazilian Grand Prix forms the final part of a triple-header which saw races in Texas and Mexico. Max Verstappen is aiming for his 17th victory of the season (and his fourth sprint win of 2023), but he is expected to face stiff competition from Mercedes. The German racing team have managed to win all races at Interlagos in the past two years.

Brazilian Grand Prix

The Brazilian Grand Prix was first held in 1972, but was only included in the official F1 calendar the following year. Home hero Emerson Fittipaldi won the first official race in 1973, to the delight of the Brazilian spectators.

Fittipaldi also managed to win the race in 1974. In 1975, a Brazilian won again, but this time it was José Carlos Pace, after whom the Sao Paulo circuit was later named after. In 1978, the Brazilian Grand Prix moved to the Jacarepaguá circuit, but in 19,79 the event returned to Interlagos.

Two years later, F1 moved to Rio de Janeiro. The Interlagos circuit had fallen into disrepair and the rise of Nelson Piquet caused calls for a race in his hometown. The local hero won twice: in 1983 and 1986. In 1990, F1 returned to Interlagos and has not moved away since.

No fewer than five Brazilians won multiple times in their own country: Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, and Felipe Massa did so twice. Yet the most successful driver in Brazil is also perhaps the least liked man in that country: Alain Prost. The Frenchman won the race six times.

Interlagos

Schumacher is the most successful driver at Interlagos with four victories so far. Vettel and Hamilton both won three times. Fittipaldi, Senna and Massa won two races at the circuit, while Prost only won one of his six Brazilian victories at Interlagos. Ferrari are the most successful team with nine victories, although McLaren follows close behind with eight victories.

The Interlagos circuit is not as high as the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, but at 786 meters above sea level, there is also thin air in Sao Paulo. A lot of power is needed for the long straight, but with corners like the Senna 'S' and the second sector with Laranjinha, Pinheirinho and Bico de Pato, a lot is also demanded of both driver and car.

Perez must score

Sergio Perez made a mistake in his home race and therefore, did not score any points for the world championship. His lead over current number three Lewis Hamilton shrank by 19 points. There's a gap of only 20 points with only three races and a sprint remaining. Will Red Bull take a one-two lead in the World Championship among the drivers for the first time in their history?

In any case, the 33-year-old will have to change his mind and keep Hamilton behind him. That will not be an easy task because the seven-time world champion seems to be feeling better and better in his car, and his gap would have been much smaller if he had not been disqualified in the United States. Perhaps he would be leading without the DNF in Qatar as well.

Brazilian Grand Prix expectations

Max Verstappen is good at the Interlagos circuit, but he has only won once: in 2019. The last two editions of the Brazilian GP were won by Mercedes, so Red Bull will once again take the German team into account.

In 2021, Valtteri Bottas won the sprint race and Lewis Hamilton won the race on Sunday. Last season, George Russell won both races and Red Bull - despite high expectations - was not involved. The fact that Mercedes won in 2022 can be called remarkable because the W13 underperformed all year. This year's W14 is a lot more competitive so we can expect Mercedes to be at the front again.

At the same time, we should not discount Ferrari and McLaren because both teams showed last weekend in Mexico that they are still at the front. Charles Leclerc took pole position, while Lando Norris managed to move from P17 to P5 after a disappointing qualifying. For Oscar Piastri, driving at Interlagos will be a new experience. As a rookie, he had never race in Sao Paulo before.

Weather forecast Sao Paulo

The Formula 1 circus will have to deal with significant temperature differences next weekend. At least, that is the current forecast from the weather stations. On Friday, it will be quite warm at 30 degrees Celsius, but rain is also forecast. Not for the whole day, but in the afternoon. The chance of rain in the first free practice is 60%.

No rain is forecast during qualifying, and it will also remain dry on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, it will be around 25 degrees, and a day later, it will cool down to 22 degrees. That means a big challenge for the teams who only have one free practice (in warm conditions) to determine the set-up for the rest of the weekend. With such large temperature differences, a car can work well on Friday but not make any progress on Sunday.

Schedule Brazilian Grand Prix (UK times)

Friday, November 3

First free practice: 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Qualifying: 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Saturday, November 4

Sprint shootout: 2:00 PM – 2:44 PM
Sprint race: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Sunday, November 5

Grand Prix: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

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