NEED TO KNOW: The most important facts, stats and trivia ahead of the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix

The F1 paddock heads to Brazil for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix as the final stop in a triple header sequence. Ahead of the event at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Need to Know is your all-in-one guide with stats, trivia, insight and much more. You can also see how fans have voted using our F1 Play predictor game.

With the Sprint format making its return this weekend, FP1 and Sprint Qualifying will take place on Friday, November 1, followed by the Sprint and Qualifying on Saturday, November 2 and the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, November 3.

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Vital statistics

• First Grand Prix – 1973
• Track Length – 4.309km
• Lap record – 1m 10.540s, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 2018
• Most pole positions – Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello, Lewis Hamilton (3)
• Most wins – Michael Schumacher (4)
• Trivia – Interlagos was built in 1938, on a plot of land unsuitable for housing. The circuit is named after Jose Carlos Pace, who won here in 1975 for Brabham.
• Pole run to Turn 1 braking point – 200 metres
• Overtakes completed in 2023 – 69
• Safety Car probability – 86%*
• Virtual Safety Car probability – 43%*
• Pit stop time loss – 20.83 seconds

*From the previous seven races in Sao Paulo

FAN VIEW: Despite his relative downturn in form recently, Max Verstappen is still the most popular choice to win in Brazil. Backed by around a third of F1 Play gamers, the Red Bull man is just ahead of Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and McLaren's Lando Norris, while Sainz's team mate Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton also have their supporters.

The driver's verdict

Jolyon Palmer, former Renault F1 driver: Interlagos has a tricky first corner, you can brake much later than you imagine and carry speed into the apex – but go too late and it's easy to lock up the front left.

The middle sector here is all about the flow, the corners come thick and fast. One lock-up in either of the tight right-handers and it puts you off line and out of sync for the whole lot. It's easy to lock up as well because you are loaded laterally on the entries there. It's a technical sector where the rhythm is everything.

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The final corner is critical, it's all about exit speed to carry you onto the whopping straight back up the hill. You've got to get the right balance between opening up the corner and taking too much kerb as well, which can unsettle the car and cost you exit speed.

Overall it's a short but fun circuit to drive. The anti-clockwise nature and long, loaded left-handers make this one a bit harder physically for the drivers as well. By the end of this race you might be feeling it on the neck, which isn't used to being loaded up so much on that side.

Last five Sao Paulo pole-sitters

• 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2022 – Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
• 2021 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2019 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

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Last five Sao Paulo winners

• 2023 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2022 – George Russell (Mercedes)
• 2021 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
• 2019 – Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
• 2018 – Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

FAN VIEW: Norris is just the favourite to take pole at Interlagos this weekend, with 26% of F1 Play gamers backing him. The Briton is marginally ahead of championship rival Verstappen, along with the Ferrari pair of Leclerc and Sainz.

Tyre and strategy insight

“In Sao Paulo all 4.309 kilometres [of the track surface] has been renewed, including the pit lane,” reads Pirelli’s weekend preview. “The work was only recently completed and the asphalt was then thoroughly cleaned, using a high pressure water washing system that removes the sheen that usually appears on brand new bitumen and this has also increased the abrasiveness of the surface.

“Therefore, the track surface will be a completely unknown factor for drivers and teams this weekend. Complicating the puzzle still further is the fact Pirelli has chosen to bring a softer trio of compounds to Brazil than last year.

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“On top of that it’s a Sprint weekend, so that there is only free practice session for teams to find the best set-up, even if, as was seen in Austin, the “short” race in fact proved to be very useful to fine tune the balance of the car for the actual Grand Prix.

“At Interlagos, the lateral and longitudinal forces exerted on the tyres around the 15 corners of this anticlockwise track are medium to low in intensity and well distributed across both axles. Furthermore, the new track surface could see a lowering of lap times and, as a consequence, an increase of the stress to which the tyres are subjected.

“The Brazilian weekend usually provides spectacular action. The circuit named in honour of Jose Carlos Pace presents several overtaking opportunities, but other random factors, such as a high chance of a Safety Car and extremely changeable weather, make the outcome of the Grand Prix uncertain and hard to predict.

“Usually, the fastest strategy is a two-stop, favouring the use of the softer compounds. Last year, all bar one of the drivers chose to start on the softs, but a red flag after the start allowed for a switch to mediums before ending the race on another set of softs. This year, the fact the compounds are a step softer could open up a wider range of possible strategies, making the race even more exciting.”

FAN VIEW: A three-time winner here, it’s unsurprising that F1 Play gamers see Hamilton as a candidate to sneak a podium spot outside of Verstappen, Norris and the in-form Ferraris. Oscar Piastri in the other McLaren is also viewed as a real contender to finish in the top three.

Current form

With four races remaining, it is all still very much to play for in what has been a fascinating 2024 season. While Max Verstappen and Red Bull initially looked on course to continue their dominant form of last year, that has been far from the case as the pecking order has continually evolved throughout the campaign.

McLaren are still at the head of the constructors’ standings after toppling Red Bull – but Ferrari have now put themselves very much in the mix for the crown off the back of some strong performances, having taken victory in the last two races.

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The Scuderia are only 29 points adrift entering the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend – can they make it a hat-trick of wins across this triple header sequence and get even closer to taking their first teams’ title since 2008?

As for Red Bull, Verstappen acknowledged that the team had struggled for pace last time out in Mexico, while team mate Sergio Perez had a disastrous weekend that saw him finish his home event in last place. The squad will be keen to try to recover their form of old for the final races of the campaign.

In the drivers’ standings, Verstappen still holds a lead of 47 points but it was Norris who had the better day at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the Briton finishing second while Verstappen ended the day in sixth following two 10-second time penalties for incidents with his title rival. Will the battle between them take another turn in Sao Paulo?

Elsewhere, Mercedes will be bringing upgrades to the event in Brazil – but with George Russell having suffered two heavy crashes recently, Toto Wolff has admitted that the team may be more limited in how many new parts they can put on the car going forward given the cost cap.

There are also some interesting storylines unfolding in the midfield, with a double points finish for Haas in Mexico boosting their chances of taking sixth in the constructors’. Will they continue their good run of form this weekend, or can RB fight back? And behind them, can Williams keep Alpine at bay in the scrap over eighth?

FAN VIEW: With three point-scoring finishes in a row, Haas’s Kevin Magnussen is well supported by F1 Play gamers in terms of the likelihood of adding to his tally this weekend. Nico Hulkenberg in the other Haas is also backed, as is Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. The Aston Martins are also expected to contend for points.

Iconic moment

There are countless memorable moments from the career of Ayrton Senna, but one particular highlight came when the three-time champion scored an emotional victory in his home race during the 1991 season.

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Having started from pole position, Senna led for 65 laps before the gearbox on his McLaren started to fail. With the rain clouds gathering and just one gear available to use, the Brazilian driver managed to make it across the line in P1, marking the first time that Senna had claimed a win in front of his local fans.

Hit go on the player below to relive that moment...

Elsewhere in Sao Paulo

There’s more activity taking place this weekend as part of the wider Sustainability Strategy that Formula 1 introduced in 2019, which includes the goal of being Net Zero by 2030, leaving a legacy of positive change and creating a more diverse sport that reflects the world in which we race.

🔧 Female Mechanics Training Programme

In partnership with the Escola de Mecanico institution, 100 women will visit the circuit on Thursday as part of the institute’s Female Mechanics Training Programme.

The project, which promotes diversity in a predominantly male industry, trains women from vulnerable backgrounds to become mechanics. Since the scheme’s launch in 2022, more than 150 women have graduated, and a new group of 50 women are set to start in 2025.

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🌱 Circularity at the circuit

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix has renewed its community garden programme, which aims to reduce food waste and provide opportunities to the local community.

Organic waste collected over the race weekend is transported by a local co-operative and transformed into compost for local community gardens. These gardens enable training programmes in the local community, including guides on how to grow vegetables. The vegetables are then used back at the circuit.

💚 Sustainable innovation

Each year the Sao Paulo Grand Prix works with a local co-operative, employing local people to support with waste management over the race weekend, with money generated from the event going towards their wages and into the local economy.

In partnership with City Hall, solar panels have been installed on the roof of Stand B and a permanent waste management centre constructed with recycled bricks built near Gate Z. Both additions will be used at events throughout the year and provide an added boost to the environmental, social and financial benefits for the team at Interlagos.