The 20th and penultimate race of the 2016 Formula 1 season will be held at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo in Brazil this weekend. The historic circuit was formerly known as “Interlagos”, renamed for the late Brazilian F1 driver Carlos Pace in 1985. This is the 44th running of the Brazilian GP overall and the 34th race hosted at Interlagos. The other races were held at the Jacarepagua circuit in Rio de Janeiro (1978, 1981 to 1989). Mercedes AMG driver Lewis Hamilton will start the Brazilian Grand Prix in pole position.
Formula 1: Preview of the Brazilian Grand Prix
The History
The original track built in the 1930s was eight kilometers long, with a lot of elevation changes and built between two lakes. Hence the original name of the circuit – Autodromo de Interlagos. It was renamed in 1985 after the 1975 Brazilian GP winner Carlos Pace, who died in a fatal plane crash in 1977. Pace was the first Brazilian to win a GP. He was also part of an illustrious group of Brazilian drivers who have adorned F1 through the years. The inaugural Brazilian Grand Prix was held in 1973 and was won by Emerson Fittipaldi, the first Brazilian World Champion.
The original circuit with its very bumpy, abrasive surface and inadequate embankments was deemed unsafe during the 1970s. Based on safety concerns, the race was shifted to the race track in Rio in 1981. The race returned to the Interlagos circuit in 1990 with a redesigned 4.3 kilometers circuit. The modern track still features the sharp elevation changes of the natural terrain and the rarefied air of Sao Paulo which is 1000m above sea level.
This race held in Sao Paulo has a special place on the F1 calendar as the home town of the much loved Ayrton Senna. The passionate and vocal fans and the vibrant carnival atmosphere of Brazil creates a great atmosphere at the Brazilian GP. The crowds have reserved their loudest cheers for their famous countryman like world champions Emerson Fittipaldi (1972, 1974), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983, 1987), Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991) and Grand Prix winners Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa, and Carlos Pace. This will be the last home race for Massa (11-time GP winner) as he retires at the end of the season.
The Drivers and Teams
The McLaren team sits atop the leader board with 12 wins at the Brazilian GP. Arch-rivals Ferrari has 10 wins, followed by Williams as the third-most successful team with six wins.
Alain Prost has the most wins at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Prost holds six victories, with five at the track in Rio. In 1990, he won his first and only race at the new Interlagos circuit. Michael Schumacher has recorded all of his four wins at Interlagos. Carlos Ruetemann of Argentina has three wins, with a host of drivers including Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Mika Hakkinen and Juan Pablo Montoya with two wins each.
Among the current drivers, Felipe Massa (2006, 2008), Kimi Raikkonen (2007), Sebastian Vettel (2010, 2013), Nico Rosberg (2014, 2015) and Jenson Button (2012) have won the Brazilian GP. Lewis Hamilton has never won this race, but this was the venue at which the Briton clinched his 2008 drivers’ title.
The Circuit
The 4.309 km Interlagos circuit has 15 corners (5 right-hand and 10 left-hand corners) and two long straights. It is one of the faster tracks on the F1 calendar with an average speed of over 215 km/h. The track also has one of the shortest laps in terms of distance. This increases the intensity of racing and closing the gaps between cars a little more. The anti-clockwise circuit with a number of left-hand corners puts extreme pressure on the drivers’ necks. Interlagos demands a medium to high downforce setup and maximum aerodynamic efficiency of the cars. The cars are on full throttle 62% of the time and the fuel consumption is low. The brake-wear is low, with heavy loads placed on the engines because of the altitude.
Sectors, Corners, and DRS Zones
Sector One from Turn One to Turn Three starts with the short start-finish straight leading to the tight left-right chicane at the Senna S (Turns 1 and 2) with a downhill drop. This is a good overtaking spot which leads to the left-hand corner Curva do Sol (Turn Three), which leads to a fast and short straight.
Sector Two from Turn Four to Turn 11 has many twisty corners and has a bumpy surface. It starts with a fast straight leading to the tight left-hand corner (Turn Four), leading to the fast Turns Five to Nine. The sector ends with a hairpin (Turn 10) and left-hand corner at Turn 11.
Sector Three from Turn 12 to Turn 15 starts with the left-hand corner at Turn 12. This is followed by sweeping left-hand corners from Turn 13 to Turn 15. The sector ends with the start-finish straight. The entire section has flat-out high speed corners and is mostly uphill.
There are two DRS zones this year at this circuit with reasonable overtaking opportunities. The first DRS detection point is at the apex of Turn Two with the first DRS activation point 20m after Turn Three. The second DRS detection point is 30m after Turn 13 and second DRS activation point is 60m before Turn 15. Nico Rosberg has won the last two races from pole position and should be the favourite again.
Tyre Strategies
Pirelli tyre choices are the orange-striped hard tyres, white-striped medium tyres, yellow-striped soft tyres. The soft tyre is the tyre of choice of the drivers with most drivers having chosen 8 or more sets of the allocated 13 sets for each driver. A two pitstop race is predicted. There is a chance of rain showers for the race. Mixed conditions always produces very exciting races here.
Pirelli Tyre Allocation: http://www.fia.com/news/f1-tyre-choices-brazilian-grand-prix
Current Form
Nico Rosberg (349 points) has a 19-point lead over his teammate Lewis Hamilton (330 pts), with two races to go. Rosberg (winner in 2014, 2015) has his best chance to win his first world drivers’ title at this race. If the German wins the race, he will win the championship. Given the fact that Hamilton has never won this race, this gives Rosberg a really good chance to win the much coveted title. The drivers’ title has been clinched at this race six times. Daniel Ricciardo (242 points) has clinched third place in the drivers’ title race.
Mercedes has already won the constructors’ title for a third consecutive year. Red Bull Racing has consolidated their second place position ahead of Ferrari. Force India has a slender nine-point lead over Williams for P4. McLaren has a comfortable lead over Toro Rosso for P6.
The battle between Rosberg and Hamilton will be the center piece of the race. Hamilton will hope for mixed conditions to help him cut the 19-point lead and take the battle for the title to the last race in Abu Dhabi. Rosberg on the other hand has his best chance to win his first title. The other drivers’ will hope to throw a spanner in the works of the Mercedes drivers. Hamilton has clinched pole position and will hope for a good start to keep his championship hopes alive.
