Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Track and Stats

The José Carlos Paz circuit in São Paulo, in southeastern Brazil, is traditionally praised before a race and then verbally abused. The track makes you overtake, there are several interesting sections, but after the finish they remember the bumpy tarmac, the unusual counterclockwise movement and the rampant crime adds flavor – in 2010 an armed attack was perpetrated on Jenson Button, ever since teams do not recommend staff to leave public places unaccompanied. Many European journalists and photographers simply do not go to this stage, fearing for their safety.

Built with private money, the autodrome was opened for racing in 1940, ten years later it became municipal property – for a small fee, the city’s centenary celebrations committee bought it from its previous owners. In 1972 Interlagos hosted the first Formula 1 race and in 1990 the Brazilian Grand Prix was given permanent residence in Sao Paulo.

The track is often referred to as Interlagos, although the track is officially named after Jose Carlos Pase, who was killed in a plane crash in 1977 – a bronze monument to the racer is installed at the main entrance. Interlagos is a geographical term, the circuit is located between two reservoirs that supply São Paulo with water and electricity.

New asphalt was laid for the 2014 race, for the 2015 stage the paddock was expanded and a large office complex was built, in 2017 the modernization program worth about $60 million was completed.

The contract to host the Brazilian Grand Prix expired in 2020. There had been talk of moving the Interlagos podium to a new circuit in Rio de Janeiro, which was just due to be built, but the regional authorities have halted this project. Formally – because of the protests of environmentalists, but in fact – because of the lack of guarantees from Formula 1 under which investments could be attracted.

In 2020, the stage did not take place due to the pandemic, but in November they announced the signing of a new five-year contract to host the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. The podium changed its national status to a geographical one and got a new promoter – the organization is operated by the company Brasil Motorsport, owned by the investors of the Mubadala fund from Abu Dhabi. Alan Adler, a specialist with extensive experience in sports and entertainment, is now responsible for hosting the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.

Track features

Technical Brazilian track – one of the shortest on the calendar, but very difficult. The twisting midsection requiring a lot of downforce splits two high-speed sections where minimal drag is needed – there’s a tradeoff in lineup the cars, but as braking at the end of a long straight is the best place to overtake, the engineers emphasize speed.

The track is on a hill – more than 750 meters above sea level, but after the stage in Mexico the teams should have no problem with this. The weather in São Paulo is unpredictable and changeable, often the key to the weekend.

Nick Chester, engineer: “It is difficult to find optimal settings in Interlagos. The midsection is very twisty, with lots of slow corners, followed by a long uphill corner that turns into a long straight where you rely on the power and dynamics of the bike.

In the mid-range, it is important to the driver that the car handles cornering well and the tendency to understeer is not so obvious, and when exiting it is necessary that the drive wheels hold the track well during acceleration.

It is quite difficult to find a compromise when choosing the level of downforce. In the last sector you want it to be less, and in other areas – more. To find this compromise, we rely on computer simulation data. Usually in Brazil we slightly reduce the level of downforce compared to the calculated one – probably we will do the same now.”

Weekend schedule

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Tire sets given to teams for the weekend

For the tenth time in a season, Pirelli will bring on stage the “middle” trio of compositions – C2, C3 and C4 marked as Hard, Medium and Soft.

One set of the softest tires must be kept for the qualifying final – after that those who raced in the final must return this set to Pirelli.

One set of Medium and Hard tires must be kept for the race – unless declared wet, riders must use at least one of these sets.

Performance of Active Pilots in Brazil

Max Verstappen: “I like the Brazilian circuit, it has an interesting configuration with a characteristic height change, and the counterclockwise movement makes the task even more interesting.

The track is quite technical, especially the twisty second sector – you have to do everything you can to show a good time. Like many of the circuits we participate in, the Interlagos circuit has a rich history and has seen many great events over the years, so this race has a special place on the calendar.”