Track: Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Number of Laps: 71
Circuit Length: 2.7 miles (4.3km)
Race Length: 190.1 miles (305.9km)
Start Time: 16:00 GMT
Fastest Lap: 1:09.822 (Rubens Barrichello, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 2004)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:11.473 (Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW, 2004)
2014 Pole Position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1:10.023, Soft Tyres
2014 Race Winner: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Soft, Medium, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Championship Grand Prix: 1973
Most Wins (Country/Circuit): Alain Prost (6)/Michael Schumacher (4), McLaren (12/7)
Mexico City welcomed Formula One back with open arms; over 120,000 fans providing a fantastically passionate atmosphere around the entire circuit. Now we head to another circuit where the atmosphere is just as good – the Autódromo José Carlos Pace – for the penultimate round of the season.
The main focus for the race will be on the battle for fourth and fifth places in the Constructors’ Championship; both could be decided this weekend. Red Bull need to outscore Force India by 18 points to secure fourth, whilst the Silverstone-based squad are looking to utilise Sergio Perez’s fine form to outscore Lotus by three points to guarantee a team-best fifth place.
Up front, however, the field is even hotter. Nico Rosberg finally got one back on his champion teammate Lewis Hamilton by taking victory in Mexico. The German will be hoping to take back to back wins for only the second time this season at Interlagos – a track that has not been kind to Hamilton. Despite winning his first title in the most dramatic of ways in 2008, Hamilton has never won the Brazilian Grand Prix in his nine attempts – losing the 2007 championship here following a gearbox problem in the race.
To further pile the pressure on Mercedes, Interlagos’ few straights mean that the Silver Arrows’ power advantage over their rivals is not as great as it is at a circuit such as Monza. Ferrari are likely to be right up there with Vettel and Raikkonen desperate to return to the top after both crashed out two weeks ago.
The German secured his third world title at the circuit in 2012 and has taken two wins around Interlagos – tied with home favourite Felipe Massa for the most wins around the track of the current drivers.
Rain usually plays its part at some stage during the race weekend, with the weather at Interlagos being the most unpredictable of the season. Should it rain, Red Bull will be right up there. Daniel Ricciardo has a ten place grid penalty for taking Renault’s new internal combustion engine, but Kvyat does not. The Russian briefly took the lead in the wet at Austin and, on a track with so many twisty sections, don’t be surprised to see him do so again in Brazil.
Keep an eye out, too, for Nico Hulkenberg. The Le Mans winner took his only career pole so far in the changeable 2010 qualifying session and led a significant amount of the race in 2012 in similar conditions. After being outshone by Perez in the second half of the season, the German will be desperate to try and replicate his form at Interlagos to try and get that elusive first podium.
