This weekend, Formulation 1 returns to Brazil, and in the course of the thirtieth anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s tragic passing, as already seen in Imola in Could, occasions and tributes can be held at Interlagos. Pirelli, in collaboration with the Senna Institute, will public sale a particular model of the Pole Place Award in Brazilian nationwide colours and that includes the emblem of the legendary Brazilian driver. Moreover, as with the previous 5 races this 12 months, there can be a particular version of the Pirelli Podium Cap, additionally within the colours of the nationwide flag and with Senna’s emblem, honoring a driver who will perpetually be remembered not solely by all Brazilians but additionally by all Formulation 1 followers.
The São Paulo Grand Prix will mark the tip of Formulation 1’s lengthy stretch within the Americas, which began with the Austin race, continued in Mexico Metropolis, and now heads to Interlagos.
Coincidentally, the Brazilian circuit, just like the earlier two, has been resurfaced. Nonetheless, whereas solely sure sections of the tracks have been repaved in Austin and Mexico Metropolis, all 4309 meters in São Paulo, together with the pit lane, have been renewed. The work was solely not too long ago accomplished, and the asphalt was completely cleaned utilizing a high-pressure water system that eliminated the shine usually seen on recent bitumen and elevated the floor’s abrasiveness.
Subsequently, the observe floor can be a completely unknown issue for drivers and groups this weekend. Including to the complexity, Pirelli has chosen to deliver softer tire compounds to Brazil than final 12 months: the C3 because the Exhausting, C4 because the Medium, and C5 because the Mushy.
The Dash format can even return this weekend, which means groups will solely have one apply session to search out the very best setup, though, as seen in Austin, the “brief” race really proved fairly helpful for fine-tuning the automobile’s stability for the principle Grand Prix.
At Interlagos, the lateral and longitudinal forces exerted on the tires by the 15 turns of this counter-clockwise circuit are of medium to low depth and are evenly distributed throughout each axles. Moreover, the brand new observe floor may result in sooner lap occasions, thereby growing tire stress.
The circuit, named after José Carlos Tempo, gives a number of overtaking alternatives however can be recognized for the excessive likelihood of a Security Automotive and very variable climate. Normally, the quickest technique includes two pit stops, favoring the usage of softer compounds. Final 12 months, all drivers however one opted to start out on Softs, however a purple flag after the beginning allowed a swap to Mediums earlier than ending the race on one other set of Softs. This 12 months, the softer compounds could open up a wider vary of technique choices, making the race much more thrilling.
Interlagos has hosted 40 Grands Prix, though solely the final three have carried the identify of the São Paulo Grand Prix. The earlier 37 have been titled the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was additionally held ten occasions at Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarepaguá circuit.
Essentially the most profitable driver in Brazil is Alain Prost with six wins, although solely one in all these was in São Paulo, a observe the place Michael Schumacher holds the report with 4 victories. Ayrton Senna tops the pole place chart with six wins in his house nation, equally divided between the 2 circuits. At Interlagos, 4 different drivers matched Ayrton Senna’s tally: his fellow Brazilians Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello, Mika Hakkinen, and Lewis Hamilton. Among the many groups, McLaren leads with 11 victories, though Ferrari has essentially the most wins at Interlagos, with 9. The British group tops the record of pole positions for this occasion with 11, and 9 pole positions on this weekend’s observe.