Track: Autodromo 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: 1m09.822 (Rubens Barrichello, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, 2004, Pre-Qualifying)
Fastest Race Lap: 1m11.473 (Juan Pablo Montoya, Williams-BMW, 2004)
2015 Pole Position: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas, 1m11.282, Soft Tyres
2015 Race Winner: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas
Tyre Compounds: Soft, Medium, Hard, Intermediate, Wet
First F1 Championship Grand Prix: 1973
Most Wins (Country/Track): Alain Prost (6)/Michael Schumacher (4), McLaren (12)/McLaren, Ferrari (8)
Once again, Nico Rosberg could be crowned Formula One World Champion this weekend.
If he outscores Lewis Hamilton by seven points or more, Rosberg will take his first Formula One crown. That means that victory for the German will guarantee him the title.
The statistics seem to be in Rosberg’s favour this weekend. Whilst Rosberg has won the last two Brazilian Grands Prix, Hamilton has never won at Interlagos in his nine visits so far. Furthermore, the five world champions on the grid have remarkably all won a title in Brazil – Alonso in 2006, Raikkonen in 2007, Hamilton in 2008, Button in 2009 and Vettel in 2012.
With the battle for the crown so close, it is no surprise to see both Mercedes drivers opt for the same tyre selection of one hard, four medium and six soft sets.
Force India and Williams are still battling hard for fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship, but they have gone their separate ways in terms of tyre choice. Williams have gone for the most aggressive selection on the grid, with nine sets of softs, three of the medium compound and one hard set. Force India have also chosen three sets of medium tyres, but favour two sets of hard tyres and eight sets of softs.
Felipe Massa will be desperate for a good result this weekend – not only to help his team gain fourth place in the standings but also to please the home crowd one last time. This is the 35-year-old’s final visit to Interlagos as a Formula One driver and he goes out with mixed memories of the track. He took his second ever win here in 2006 and although he took a second victory two years later, he lost the championship to Lewis Hamilton by just one point. Having been disqualified post-race last year, the home favourite will be aiming to get his first podium of the season on Sunday.
Interlagos is renowned for its unpredictable weather and this year looks to be no exception. Rain is forecast for Friday and Sunday, so after a fairly average Grand Prix here last year, let’s hope that the weather spices things up on Sunday.
