The anticlockwise Interlagos circuit has provided some spectacular races in the past and all F1 fans will be hoping for another drama-filled event this weekend, with two slices of action in the Sprint on Saturday and the main race on Sunday.
This will be the 41st F1 event at the track – which replaced Rio de Janeiro as the venue for the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1990 – but it is only the third one that is named the Sao Paulo – rather than the Brazilian Grand Prix. Here are some of its top stats ahead of this weekend.
Title no-contest
The venue has hosted six drivers’ title deciders – in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012 – but it is already three races since Max Verstappen sealed his third title. However, a Lewis Hamilton win and four points or less for Sergio Perez would see a switch for second. Hamilton is now 9/1 for the runner-up spot, while Perez is a 4/7 favourite.
Pole and win record
Hamilton is chasing what would be an outright record fourth pole at odds of 8/1 – although Verstappen is more fancied at 4/9 and the Ferraris are 11/2. If he can deliver, the Mercedes driver could turn it into a win to match Michael Schumacher’s record of four victories at the circuit.
Tight margins
The margins are tight at this track in qualifying, with pole coming down to less than a tenth of a second in nine of the last 12 races. Last year, Kevin Magnussen pipped Verstappen by 0.101s in a wet session, although that was annulled when he dropped down in the Sprint – and the odds of that happening again this year are 500/1.
Back-to-back wins
Verstappen, Hamilton and George Russell are the only three current drivers to have won at Interlagos, the latter taking his maiden F1 win at the track last year. There have been only five back-to-back winners in Sao Paulo, though, and the odds of Russell being one are 18/1, with a podium finish for the Mercedes driver at 2/1.
Back to front
The track has some good overtaking opportunities and with rain predicted for qualifying some drivers may have to chase through the field – Carlos Sainz did so when he went from last to third in 2020, while Hamilton won from 10th on the grid in 2021. The odds of the race having two leaders is 2/1.
Source: Autosport