Formula 1 São Paulo Grand Prix car by car event guide

Having hosted Formula 1 for now exactly half a century Interlagos is probably the most famous and storied American venue on the calendar producing unforgettable scenes such as Ayrton Senna pushing through the pain barrier to win in front of his adoring fans or countless title-defining clashes.

Last year the race lived up to its unpredictable reputation with Kevin Magnussen taking a stunning pole for Haas, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen colliding and George Russell scoring his long-awaited maiden Grand Prix win. It was the only occasion in a staggering run of 25 races Red Bull was beaten.

Download the full Formula 1 Sao Paulo Grand Prix event guide HERE with track stats and facts and a full event schedule, plus our extensive driver profiles.

Although Verstappen once again cruised to the chequered flag in Mexico, Red Bull may face a bigger challenge than what it has become used to from its rivals.

The Dutchman did lead through the first corner, but that was only after a flying start having been out qualified by both Ferraris.

This made it back to back pole positions for Charles Leclerc, who still scored a first podium in seven races despite carrying significant front wing damage.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton collide in the Senna S. Photo by Steve Etherington / LAT Images)

Mercedes has also found its stride since its latest update and in particular Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton has shown flashes of his best on the past two Sundays finishing on the road twice in both Texas and Mexico City.

Although Russell’s podium less stretch now dates back to 12 races since Spain, he has still moved forward from lower qualifying positions and will be fuelled by the sweet memories of 12 months ago.

Adding more motivation to the Brackley team will be Hamilton’s pursuit to steal second in the championship from the struggling Sergio Perez.

After crashing out on the first lap on home soil being his latest disappointment, the Mexican only holds a 20-point advantage over the seven-time world champion.

Emerson Fittipaldi leads the field from pole in the McLaren M23 Ford at the 1974 Brazilian Grand Pric. Photo by David Phipps / Sutton Images

All the momentum is with Hamilton, who has closed the gap by 35 points over the last five races and could be all over Perez if it was not for the American disqualification.

The other driver Perez has to watch out for is Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo, who was back to his best at Mexico.

Despite driving the much slower AlphaTauri, Ricciardo out qualified Perez and went on to score the team’s best result of the year.

The Aussie will be aiming to replicate his mighty Mexican performance across the back end of the year to strengthen his case.

Oscar Piastri will be chasing more points in his first trip to Sao Paulo and whilst McLaren is playing down its chances due to the slow-speed second sector, it cannot be discounted.

If recent trips to Sao Paulo are anything to go by, strap yourself in for plenty of drama on all three days.