This weekend, System 1 returns to Brazil, and throughout the thirtieth anniversary of Ayrton Senna’s tragic passing, as already seen in Imola in Might, 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 brand 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 System 1 followers.
The São Paulo Grand Prix will mark the top of System 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. Nevertheless, whereas solely sure sections of the tracks had 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 sometimes seen on recent bitumen and elevated the floor’s abrasiveness.
Subsequently, the monitor 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 Onerous, C4 because the Medium, and C5 because the Tender.
The Dash format will even return this weekend, that means groups will solely have one observe session to search out the very best setup, though, as seen in Austin, the “brief” race truly proved fairly helpful for fine-tuning the automobile’s steadiness for the primary Grand Prix.
At Interlagos, the lateral and longitudinal forces exerted on the tires via 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 monitor 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 Automobile and very variable climate. Often, the quickest technique entails two pit stops, favoring using softer compounds. Final 12 months, all drivers however one opted to start out on Softs, however a crimson 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 had been titled the Brazilian Grand Prix, which was additionally held ten occasions at Rio de Janeiro’s Jacarepaguá circuit.
Probably the most profitable driver in Brazil is Alain Prost with six wins, although solely one in all these was in São Paulo, a monitor the place Michael Schumacher holds the file with 4 victories. Ayrton Senna tops the pole place chart with six wins in his residence 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 workforce tops the listing of pole positions for this occasion with 11, and 9 pole positions on this weekend’s monitor.