Brazil GP: Timetable, standings, track info, weather forecast

Brazil GP Timetable

Formula 1 is still on the other side of the world, so you can switch on quite late in the day next weekend to follow the action live. The most striking thing about the schedule for next weekend is the sprint race, the third and last of this year. The chance for Max Verstappen to become this year’s ‘sprint race champion’ on top of his world championship. After all, he won the first two sprint races of this year. Due to the sprint race, please note that qualifying takes place already on Friday. That qualification determines the starting grid for the sprint race, the result of the sprint race determines the starting grid for the race on Sunday. The person who sets the fastest time in qualifying will receive the pole position award, although that person will not automatically be on pole for the race on Sunday.

Championship standings

Although the driver’s title has already been forgiven for a while, it remains unusually exciting behind Max Verstappen. His teammate, Sergio Pérez, has recaptured second place in the championship from Charles Leclerc in his home country of Mexico, but with five points difference, the lead is extremely minimal. Furthermore, it is exciting who the highest-ranking Mercedes driver will be. George Russell has the upper hand this year for now, but Lewis Hamilton has been recovering quite well lately. If Hamilton does not manage to finish above Russell, he will lose out to a teammate (then Nico Rosberg) for the first time since 2016.

In the constructors’ championship, the battle is far from over, although the world title of Red Bull Racing is certain. Although it is quite a task, Mercedes can still knock Ferrari from second place. You can bet that the German-British team will go all out for that. Beyond that, race after race remains incredibly exciting between Alpine and McLaren. Alpine seems to have the best papers for pure speed, but must be careful not to lose points again due to technical problems. Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin are still fighting hard for sixth place in the championship and a top ten finish for Haas or AlphaTauri could make a big difference.

Circuit

Circuit Interlagos, officially called Autódromo José Carlos Pace, is an old acquaintance in Formula 1. The circuit near São Paulo already hosted a Formula 1 Grand Prix in 1972 and had some memorable editions. For example, for the always enthusiastic home crowd, local heroes Emerson Fittipaldi and Ayrton Senna won the race there twice. Senna in particular was highly regarded in his home country and is still very much alive among the fans. For example, they shouted Senna’s name in full when Max Verstappen drove a masterful rain race in 2016. Lewis Hamilton also kept the memory of the driver who died in 1994 alive. Among other things, when he received a helmet from Senna a few years ago, but also because he makes no secret of the fact that Senna is one of his idols and that he often pays tribute to the three-time world champion in Brazil.

Interlagos, which literally means ‘between the lakes’, is a circuit with some special characteristics. For example, the first bend turns left, which is unusual, and the course has quite a bit of difference in height. The first three corners (the ‘Senna Esses’) provide a spectacle almost every year. If it’s not at the start, then during the race with nice overtaking actions. Sector 2 is also spectacular, with some pretty sharp turns and room to overtake. The lightning-fast turns 14 and 15 towards the straight often provide beautiful images. On this last part of the circuit, Verstappen briefly lost control of the wheel in the aforementioned rain race of 2016, but managed to avoid a crash in a special way.

The drivers will drive 71 laps on the more than 4.3 km long circuit next Sunday, to arrive at a total race distance of just under 306 km. The fastest race lap is now quite old: Valtteri Bottas clocked a time of 1:10.540 here in 2018. Incidentally, Max Verstappen took pole position here last year with 1:07.508. In the end it was Lewis Hamilton who won the race on Sunday last year after a great catch-up race.

Weather forecast

The weather has regularly played a major role in the course of the Brazilian Grand Prix. This could be the case again next weekend, because the prospects are not too good for the time being. Unless you’re hoping for a rain race, of course. Showers are expected for the entire weekend, with temperatures of around 30 degrees Celsius. The weather can change quickly, so there is a chance that the intermediates and maybe even the full wet rain tires will reappear at Interlagos.