José Carlos Pace

The Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo is better known as Interlagos, Portuguese for 'between lakes'. It sits in the district of the same name, between the Guarapiranga and Billings reservoirs. The land was bought in 1926 by developers who planned to build housing. After difficulties, partly linked to the 1929 stock market crash, a racing circuit was built instead. Construction began in 1938 and the track opened on 12 May 1940, with Indianapolis, Roosevelt Raceway, Brooklands and Montlhéry serving as inspiration. In 1985 it was renamed in honour of the Brazilian Formula 1 driver José Carlos Pace, who died in a plane crash in 1977. The circuit runs anticlockwise.

Interlagos staged a non-championship Formula 1 race in 1972, won by Carlos Reutemann. The first world championship round followed in 1973, won by Emerson Fittipaldi for Lotus. Fittipaldi won again in 1974, this time for McLaren, and Pace took victory for Brabham in 1975. The last Formula 1 race on the original layout of nearly eight kilometres took place in 1980. There were safety concerns over the bumpy surface, inadequate barriers and deep ditches and embankments, and the 1980 race was close to being cancelled after protests from several drivers. Formula 1 then moved to Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro. It returned to Interlagos in 1990, by which time the track had been cut to 4.325 kilometres, losing three long straights. Today the lap measures 4.309 kilometres and has 15 corners. Since 2021 the event has been called the São Paulo Grand Prix.

Interlagos follows the rises and falls of hilly ground, which makes demands on both drivers and cars. Because the track runs anticlockwise, the lateral forces push the drivers' necks to the right. The region is known for quickly changing weather and sudden downpours. The Senna S leads into the Curva do Sol and the Reta Oposta, the longest straight on the lap. Later on there is a slow section of small, kart-like corners, and from the exit of the Junção to the first corner the cars are typically at full throttle. The pit lane is very long and only rejoins the track after the Curva do Sol. The asphalt was entirely replaced in 2007, and a chicane was added to the pit entrance in 2014. Several championships have been decided here, including Fernando Alonso's titles in 2005 and 2006 and Kimi Räikkönen's in 2007.