Interlagos

Interlagos is a compact, 4.309 km lap that runs anti-clockwise over hilly ground, with about 40 m of elevation change. The lap begins at the Senna S, a downhill left-right that is the main overtaking spot, then drops to Descida do Lago, the lowest point of the circuit. From there it climbs through the middle sector before the final corners and Subida dos Boxes, three left-hand kinks uphill onto the start-finish straight.

The track is short, bumpy and constantly changes gradient, so the field is tightly packed and slipstreaming works well. Weather is the wild card: sudden rain is common, and a dry-set-up car can be caught out within a lap. With only 15 corners, lap time is decided by traction out of the slow corners and a good run onto the straights.

Interlagos opened on 12 May 1940 on the southern side of São Paulo. Formula 1 first raced there in the non-championship 1972 Brazilian Grand Prix, won by Carlos Reutemann, and the world championship race followed in 1973 with a home win for Emerson Fittipaldi. The circuit was renamed after Carlos Pace, winner of the 1975 race, in 1985; he had died in a plane crash in 1977. In 2024 his remains were moved to the circuit.

The original track was almost 8 km long, and the rough surface and safety concerns took the race to Rio's Jacarepaguá circuit in 1978 and from 1981 to 1989. Interlagos was shortened from about 7.87 km to about 4.3 km, and the F1 race came back in 1990 with a win for Alain Prost in a Ferrari.

The 2008 race saw Lewis Hamilton take the world title by a single point on the last lap, and in 2024 Max Verstappen won in the rain after starting 17th. Lando Norris won in 2025. The 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix is scheduled for 8 November.