This weekend sees Formula 1 return to Brazil for a weekend of adrenaline fuelled racing. With Lewis Hamilton already been crowned World Champion, but Nico Rosberg winning in Mexico, the Brit is sure to want to show who the Primary Mercedes Driver is. We thought we’d find out a little more about the famous Brazilian Grand Prix, a fixture that has often been a decider for many Championship titles.
- The first Brazilian Grand Prix was on 11th February 1973, the race consisted of 40 laps of the Interlagos circuit. The race was won by Emerson Fittipaldi for the Lotus-Cosworth team, whilst British driver Jackie Stewart came in second place for Tyrrell-Cosworth.
- The track can cause problems for drivers as it is at a high altitude at around 800m above sea level. This means that the cars can experience 13% loss of engine power as a result, however thinner oxygen also means the drag is reduced.
- The history isn’t great for Lewis Hamilton, he has never won at Interlagos in the 8 times he has raced there… However, he did win his first World Title at the track in 2008.
- The record number of wins at the track is held by Alain Prost with 6 wins at the Circuit, with Michael Schumacher in second place with 4 wins.
- McLaren have been the most successful team at Interlagos with 12 wins, Ferrari aren’t far behind them with 10. They will be hoping Vettel can make that 11 this weekend.
- The lap record was set in 2004 by Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya for the Williams team with a time of just 1 minute 11.473 seconds.
- Interlagos is unusual as the track runs in an anti-clockwise direction, most circuits on the F1 calendar run in a clockwise direction meaning the stress is on the other side of the body for drivers.
Felipe Massa is the last Brazilian driver to have won at his home Grand Prix, having done so in 2008 and 2006. He has not won a race since his last win in Interlagos.
- Five of the drivers who should be racing this weekend have previously won at the circuit: Vettel, Massa, Raikkonen, Button and Rosberg (who won in 2014)
- Qualifying on pole is not essential at the Brazilian Grand Prix circuit, often those on pole do not go on to win the race. That being said, no one further back than third on the grid has won in the last ten years.
- The circuit is notorious for its changeable weather conditions, for example in 2003 a sudden downpour caused havoc when water on the track claimed several cars including that of Michael Schumacher.
It’s clear that Interlagos seems to offer one of the more dramatic races in the Formula One Calendar. We can’t wait to tune in to this weekend’s race to see what great driving it will have in store! To be at a race in 2016 check out our website for great GP packages to a number of great Grand Prix’ including Monaco, German, British, Spanish, Italian and Belgian