And so we trundle our way towards seasons end with our next stop, the ever popular Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Sao Paulo, Brazil. In short, this circuit is one of the highlights of the year. Featuring, in this authors humble opinion, the finest opening complex in Grand Prix racing. The sweeping down hill left, right 'Senna S' followed by the long left handed 'Curva do sol' has caught out many a driver in the past and seen some outstanding overtakes, coming togethers and action. So where did it all begin?
The first Brazilian GP was held in Sao Paulo as a non-championship test event back in 1972. The first championship race was won by local boy Emerson Fittipaldi for Lotus in 1973. He repeated the win in 74 this time while on the way to the World Championship for McLaren and another local hero Carlos Pace took his only F1 win the following year to make it 3 for 3 to Brazil in the first three races.
As the 70's progressed and with safety an ever growing concern in F1, the drivers complaints about the condition of the track increased. After the 1977 GP the track was dropped for the following year with the race moving to Rio. The 1977 race would also mark the final appearence in his home GP of the very popular Carlos Pace. Pace lost his life in a light aircraft crash just outside Sao Paulo on the 18th March 1977. Despite some track and facility improvements, the race was again dropped from the calender in 1980 and for the whole of the 80's the race was held at the Jacarepagua circuit in Rio.
It was the rise to prominence of yet another Sao Paulo native, Ayrton Senna that saw the officials in the city, lobby hard for a return to hosting the race. Having chopped the length of the track from it's original 4.6 miles to a more reasonable 2.67 miles and spending an estimated 15 million dollers on other upgrades, the track has hosted the race ever since. It's some what ironic that with the rise of Nelson Piquet, the Rio circuit was named after the then star Brazilian driver while the less used Interlagos was renamed after Carlos Pace in 1985. Perhaps if the track remained hosting the race it would have now been known after Fittipaldi or Senna.
Either way, it's not the name of the circuit that we remember it for but some of the most iconic moments in F1. Who can forget these for example?
So, what's going to happen this year? The honest answer with Brazil is who knows? The weather plays an important factor with rain affecting many recent races. It's a tricky track with mistakes punished all around the circuit. As Murry Walker once said "Anything can happen in F1 and it usually does"
It's just a shame the championship has already been wrapped up because Brazil remains one of the best places for any driver to win a GP.
The first Brazilian GP was held in Sao Paulo as a non-championship test event back in 1972. The first championship race was won by local boy Emerson Fittipaldi for Lotus in 1973. He repeated the win in 74 this time while on the way to the World Championship for McLaren and another local hero Carlos Pace took his only F1 win the following year to make it 3 for 3 to Brazil in the first three races.
As the 70's progressed and with safety an ever growing concern in F1, the drivers complaints about the condition of the track increased. After the 1977 GP the track was dropped for the following year with the race moving to Rio. The 1977 race would also mark the final appearence in his home GP of the very popular Carlos Pace. Pace lost his life in a light aircraft crash just outside Sao Paulo on the 18th March 1977. Despite some track and facility improvements, the race was again dropped from the calender in 1980 and for the whole of the 80's the race was held at the Jacarepagua circuit in Rio.
It was the rise to prominence of yet another Sao Paulo native, Ayrton Senna that saw the officials in the city, lobby hard for a return to hosting the race. Having chopped the length of the track from it's original 4.6 miles to a more reasonable 2.67 miles and spending an estimated 15 million dollers on other upgrades, the track has hosted the race ever since. It's some what ironic that with the rise of Nelson Piquet, the Rio circuit was named after the then star Brazilian driver while the less used Interlagos was renamed after Carlos Pace in 1985. Perhaps if the track remained hosting the race it would have now been known after Fittipaldi or Senna.
Either way, it's not the name of the circuit that we remember it for but some of the most iconic moments in F1. Who can forget these for example?
So, what's going to happen this year? The honest answer with Brazil is who knows? The weather plays an important factor with rain affecting many recent races. It's a tricky track with mistakes punished all around the circuit. As Murry Walker once said "Anything can happen in F1 and it usually does"
It's just a shame the championship has already been wrapped up because Brazil remains one of the best places for any driver to win a GP.
