Part three of our triple header takes us back to São Paulo, home of the Interlagos circuit and host to numerous thrilling moments in the years since the track’s championship debut in 1973. Not only has Brazil given us iconic championship battles, it’s also given us some very talented drivers – Emerson Fittipaldi, Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa, and of course the late, great Ayrton Senna.
Champions have been crowned at the circuit, but it’s doubtful we’ll see any world championship celebrations this weekend, as Max Verstappen doesn’t quite have a lead as sizeable as he might like. Having several drivers still in contention for the title means the ante is upped considerably – so what kind of a race will we be seeing on Sunday?
The drivers lining up on the grid in Brazil, 2023. Credit: Red Bull Content Pool
The track has consistently hosted the Grand Prix since 1990. Prior to that, the Brazilian GP was hosted intermittently in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, in the year 1978 and then from 1981 – 1989, but from 1973 – 1977 and in 1979/1980 it went back to its origins in Interlagos, albeit with occasional modifications to the GP circuit there. Alain Prost remains the driver to have won the most Grand Prix races in Brazil, however only one of those wins was at the Interlagos circuit. Carlos Reutemann and Michael Schumacher are tied second with 4 wins, however half of Reutemann’s wins were at Jacarepaguá, leaving Schumacher to be the driver with the most wins at the Interlagos circuit.
Drivers will have to complete 71 laps of the circuit, travelling over 300km in total in search of precious points towards the championship. The current lap record is held by none other than Valtteri Bottas, setting a 1:10.540 lap time back in 2018 when he drove as Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes.
More recently, last year’s Grand Prix saw the weather trying to throw spanners in the works before the sun had even risen on race day. 2023’s Q3 session was cut short by four minutes due to the thunderstorms bringing heavy rain onto the track, leaving Verstappen in pole position, from which he went on to win the race the following day. Charles Leclerc, who had qualified in second, didn’t have the same luck; he crashed out on the formation lap due to problems with the car’s hydraulics.
It wasn’t solely Leclerc struck with bad luck, however; including him, there were six drivers who didn’t complete the race. 2022's shock pole sitter Kevin Magnussen had collided with Alex Albon before they even reached the first corner, retiring them both in the aftermath, both Alfa Romeos retired due to issues with the engine and hydraulics, and George Russell’s Mercedes was retired in the later stages of the race due to issues with the oil temperature. Will we see more than 14 of our beloved drivers cross the line and complete the race this year?
With more points up for grabs this weekend thanks to the sprint race, it’s possible we might see another change in the constructors championship standings. Last weekend at the Mexico City Grand Prix saw Ferrari overtake Red Bull into second place, thanks to the success of Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing first and third respectively. McLaren still lead the way with 566 points, Ferrari have 537 and Red Bull now sit in third place with 512 points; 362 of those belong to Max Verstappen.
But it’s not just on-track action that has us excited for the weekend. According to the circuit’s Instagram page, there will be some very special guests in the fan zone; including none other than 4 time World Champion Sebastian Vettel himself. Vettel has been a key figure in speaking about and honoring Ayrton Senna’s legacy 30 years from his death. You might remember at Imola earlier this year, Vettel took Ayrton Senna’s McLaren on a triumphant lap of the circuit, and on the same weekend organised a run around the track with some of the current drivers with them all wearing t-shirts to honour the memory of Senna, but also that of Roland Ratzenberger, who passed away in qualifying the day before Senna.
It has also been revealed ahead of the weekend at Interlagos that Lewis Hamilton will be driving Ayrton Senna's iconic McLaren MP4/5B after Saturday's qualifying session. An honorary Brazillian citizen and someone who has looked up to Senna his entire life, this will be a huge moment for Hamilton - in his second 'home' race and last Brazilian GP before he makes the switch from Mercedes to Ferrari. It'll certainly be a fantastic sight seeing that car roar around Interlagos once again, three decades after the tragic passing of Ayrton Senna.
Sebastian Vettel with Senna's statue at Imola. Credit: @F1 on X.
Mexico City saw Max Verstappen receive a whopping twenty seconds in penalties due to incidents with the driver closing in on him in the championship – none other than Lando Norris, who did in fact pick up for a penalty for himself at the beginning of the triple header in the United States. So will we see penalties change the course of this weekend, or could the weather do that first? All we know is that to be in with a chance of winning that drivers trophy, Norris has to consistently outscore Verstappen between now and the end of the season.
But Verstappen, despite this season perhaps not being as dominant as last year, certainly won’t be going down without a fight!
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