Four rounds to go in the 2025 Formula 1 season, with next up being its only trip to South America, at the iconic Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo. With a carnival atmosphere and unpredictable weather, it’s a track that often provides drama, such as when your guide to the circuit – Nico Hulkenberg – secured pole position as a rookie for Williams back in 2010 (pictured above).
“I’ve always naturally had a good connection and feeling with this track. One of the first things that stands out, it’s anti-clockwise – we don’t have that many circuits in the season that are anti-clockwise anymore. So there’s a lot of left-hand corners, and it’s very tough for the neck on the left side.
“I think it’s clear what you want to do with the setup, especially now we’re towards the end of the season. We know our car pretty well, we know where more or less the window is and there’s obviously fine-tuning going on in the background as usual and especially after Free Practice 1 – being a Sprint weekend we only have one practice and then you do a few tweaks, a bit of fine-tuning going into Sprint qualifying.
“It used to be pretty bumpy, but now they have resurfaced it again, so we’ll see how it is this weekend. And then from a setup perspective you have always that compromise here between that massive uphill long straight down to Turn 1 – where you don’t want a lot of drag and downforce – but then the infield where you kind of need it.
“So that’s the usual balance around here, but the track has a good flow, quite a few elevation changes which I personally love a lot, some banked corners, a little warp in the circuit as well in many points…
“It’s just one of the true classic, iconic tracks, and so much history has taken place here. Coming here and driving towards Interlagos and then driving into the circuit, you feel that history and for me, I was always able to connect with that a lot.
“Curbs are one thing that have changed quite a bit over the years as well – they’ve changed them quite a lot. Now, there are a few curbs still left that you can take, but you’ve got to take them in the right way and hit them in the right angle, otherwise they can be pretty upsetting.
Interlagos has made its curbs a bit less aggressive but they can still catch you out, as they did Oliver Bearman last year, giving then-teammate Hulkenberg something to think about… Sam Bloxham/Getty Images
“To be honest, there’s not really one key section – it’s everywhere and given that it’s a short lap time – it’s about 1m10s or even below – the field is always very compact, very densely grouped together, so you need to be dialed in every moment of the lap.
“I had the pole position here 15 years ago but more than that I think it’s just the place is special altogether. Just the atmosphere and the feeling you have being in Sao Paulo, being in Interlagos, that’s the main thing.
“And when you drive around and sometimes when you have a slow lap or something, you can have a glimpse on the grandstands and the Sao Paulo vibe is what makes it special. There’s many, many cool places around the lap.”
AT A GLANCE
Race distance: 71 laps/192.6 miles
2024 pole time: 1m23.405s (Lando Norris, McLaren)
2024 winner: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
This year’s tire compound selection for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix harks back to 2023, with the C2, C3 and C4 as Hard, Medium and Soft, therefore one step harder than the trio used last year.
Last year, the dry weather tires were not required for the race, but when used on Friday and Saturday morning, they showed high levels of wear as well as graining, especially on the rear axle. The circuit had been completed resurfaced, thus leaving a very smooth surface, less abrasive than in previous years, although still with plenty of bumps around the track.
If conditions are similar, with the inevitable variations due to the aging of the asphalt, the decision to bring harder compounds could thus extend the performance life of the tires, which are already more resistant to degradation than the 2024 range. That might allow the Soft to come into play, which last year was only used for Sprint qualifying.
MSC CRUISES SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX WEEKEND SCHEDULE (all times ET):
Friday, November 7
9:25am – 10:30am – Free Practice 1, ESPN2
1:25pm – 2:30pm – Sprint Qualifying, ESPN2
Saturday, November 8
8:55am – 10:00am – Sprint, ESPN2
12:55pm – 2:00pm – GP Qualifying, ESPNews
Sunday, November 9
11:55am – 2:00pm – Sao Paulo Grand Prix (71 laps or 120 minutes), ESPN2
