Everything you need to know about Brazil, the circuit and the Formula 1 weekend

The final stages of the season have arrived and before heading to the usual Abu Dhabi finale, we will stop in Brazil to drive the famous and infamous Autódromo José Carlos Pace. It’s time to take a closer look at the land of samba!

Brazil

As usual, we dive first in the country where we will settle next weekend: Brazil. We also look at a piece of history, culture, geography and culture. With its 8.5 million km², almost half of South America, the gigantic country is the largest country on the continent. Moreover, the country is the largest country in the world after Russia, Canada, the United States, and China. The capital is called Brasilia, but the largest city in the country is São Paulo, the scene of this weekend.

Brazil was originally, like the United States, inhabited by Indians. In 1500, Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived in Brazil, after which the country was declared a Portuguese colony. From 1530, colonization really began and the Portuguese took power in the country, so Portuguese became the official language of the country. The Netherlands also has a history in Brazil, as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands had something to say in the country between 1630 and 1654. Eventually, the Portuguese regained power. Independence was finally declared in 1822 and it was officially recognized by Portugal three years later.

At the start of 2023, the leadership of the country will return to Lula da Silva, after Jair Bolsonaro has reigned since 2019, but must give up power after a turbulent election. At the last census of 2020, the country had a total population of 211,715,973, almost all of whom speak Portuguese. Besides Brasilia and São Paulo, Brazil has many major cities in the form of Rio de Janeiro, the former capital Salvador and Fortaleza. In addition, the country is covered by large parts of tropical (tropical) forest. The country has the seventh largest economy in the world and lives mainly on raw materials, agricultural products and the production of clothes, cars and planes, for example. Despite the great economy, there is great income inequality in the country, which makes the difference between the rich and the poor huge.

São Paulo, next weekend’s podium

The Formula 1 circus will therefore settle this weekend in the largest city in the country: São Paulo. The city is one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world. Precise numbers are not known, but when last counted in 2010, there were around 22 million people in and around the gigantic city. Several big names in motorsport have been born in São Paulo. Think names like Ayrton Senna, Felipe Massa, Emerson Fittipaldi and Helio Castroneves.

São Paulo itself is a great source of culture. The Museu de Arte de São Paulo is one of the largest and most important museums in Latin America and houses many works by painters such as Vincent van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. São Paulo Cathedral is also a special building and definitely worth seeing. Football is the city’s most popular sport and with illustrious clubs such as Palmeiras, Corinthians and São Paulo FC, that’s clear. Motorsport is also very popular with the illustrious circuit in the Interlagos district and the many legendary drivers.

This weekend’s podium: Autodromo José Carlos Pace

The São Paulo circuit is one of the most legendary circuits in motorsport. The Brazilian Grand Prix has been held here since 1973 and many heroic moments have taken place since then. The circuit was named in 1985 after Brazilian Carlos Pace, who won his only Formula 1 victory at this circuit in 1975 and died in a plane crash in 1977.

Normally, there are 71 laps on the 4.309 kilometer circuit. Michael Schumacher is the most successful driver of the Autodromo José Carlos Pace, the German won four times in São Paulo: in 1994, 1995, 2000 and 2002. He is closely followed by his compatriot Sebastian Vettelwhich he won in 2010, 2013 and 2017. The circuit is characterized by the many bumps, which often make the bottom plates of Formula 1 cars difficult. In addition, the circuit with the legendary ‘S’ do Senna in the turn 1 hosts one of the most beautiful turns on the calendar.

Memorable Moments

Because the Brazilian Grand Prix is ​​traditionally held reasonably often at the end of the season, many championships have been decided at Interlagos. The first thing that immediately comes to the fore is the first world title of Lewis Hamilton in 2008. A legendary race at Interlagos saw local favorite Felipe Massa win on a rainy day, leaving the roof open to the Brazilian crowd and the party even going wild in the Ferraripit box.

However, nothing came of it. For a long time Hamilton seemed to be just behind the net for the world title, just like in 2007. The Briton struggled during the race where he was not allowed to finish below fifth place. It seemed about to happen, but due to a sudden downpour towards the end of the race, it was Timo Glock who barely managed to find grip on his tyres, allowing Hamilton to pass him in the last corner to claim his first world title, much to the chagrin of Brazilian fans.

Also Max Verstappen has been initiated several times into the magic of Interlagos. For example, in 2016 the Dutchman had one of his best races ever in wet conditions, once again showing his talent in the Red Bull. With brilliant driving he managed to drive to P3 in the Red Bull from far behind and he also showed one of the best examples of car control by keeping his car off the wall as he entered the straight. In 2018, he seemed on his way to victory, before Esteban Ocon decided to get rid of a late lap, knocking Verstappen off the track and he had to settle for second place.

Back to present

Although the sting has now disappeared from both world championships, there are of course still a lot of interesting things to do during the São Paulo Grand Prix, for example we will drive again according to the sprint race format and Verstappen will look for the win number fifteen of the season. Hamilton will also still be looking for his first win of the season and what better place to do so than the country where he was recently made an honorary citizen?

So Paulo Grand Prix Timetable

friday november 11

First free practice: 4:30 p.m.

Qualifying: 8:00 p.m.

Saturday November 12

Second free trial: 4:30 p.m.

Sprint race: 8:30 p.m.

sunday november 13

Race: 7 p.m.

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