By Mark Gero
As one of the races that has been on the formula one calendar since 1972, the former Brazilian Grand Prix (now known as the Sao Paulo Grand Prix) has been one of the races which has decided the world championship.
The circuit, which is known as Interlagos, or between the two lakes, is run on the outskirts of the city itself, in the suburbs of the same name.
History wise, this track has produced four race winners from the same country from where it is held, from Emerson Fitipaldi taking the first victory, to Carlos Pace in 1975, to the only victory at his home circuit by Aryton Senna in 1991. Felipe Massa won his home grand prix in 2008, but unfortunately, this race is being taken to court, which Maasa claimed that the championship that he lost to Lewis Hamilton was not fair. Kimi Raikkonen won Ferrari’s last world title the year before in 2007, as well as Jenson Button two years later.
In addition, the Haas F1 Team, who have not stood on the victory podium since it began in 2016, achieved their only pole position with Kevin Magnussen in 2022.
The circuit has not always stayed the same as it is today. At first, the grand prix was not only held at Interlagos, but on an airfield in another suburb, near the city of Rio de Janeiro. This circuit had a lot of controversy, and after a lot of trying for a few seasons, the race moved back to Sao Paulo, where it remains to this day. The track has not always been known as Interlagos either, as the circuit was finally named officially the Jose Carlos Pace Circuit in memory of Pace, who unfortunately died a few years later after his victory in a plane crash.
For most of the fans and officials and journalist alike, the race has been known for its poor weather, especially when the area is in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is getting into the end of Spring and into the start of summer, in comparison when it was run at the beginning of February, when it was at the hottest time of the year. Now, with the race normally run in November, the weather has always been the talking point, where it seems that there is always the threat of rain in the forecast, since the area, if you want to be trained as a meteorologist, is near the equator, where winds and change of atmospheric conditions can happen at a moment’s notice in comparison to other regions where the other grands prix are held.
As for the track itself, it has always been a short circuit, and the 71 laps taken is a regular appearance, in which in the old days, the back part of the track was a few meters longer than it is today, where the circuit now has changed to a chicane following the first turn, which has been named for Senna himself.
So, if anyone ever gets to travel to this race, be expected to make it an adventure, as no cars can get near the circuit, except for journalists and members of participants in the race. It can make this event quite memorable to those who follow it.
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