There are four rounds left in the 2025 F1 season. Next up is their only trip to South America, which will take place at the iconic Interlagos circuit in São Paulo. With its carnival atmosphere and unpredictable weather, it’s a track where drama often occurs, including guided circuits. – Nico Hulkenberg – He took pole position as a rookie with Williams in 2010 (pictured above).
“I’ve always had a natural good connection and feeling with this track. One of the first things that stands out is that it’s counterclockwise. There aren’t that many counterclockwise circuits anymore this season, so there are a lot of left-hand corners, and it’s very tough on the left-hand neck.
“I think it’s clear what we want to do with the set-up, especially now that we’re nearing the end of the season. We know our car very well, we know more or less where the window is and there’s obviously some fine-tuning going on in the background as usual, especially after free practice one, it’s a sprint weekend so we’ll only have one practice and then we’ll do some fine-tuning and a little bit of fine-tuning for sprint qualifying.”
“It was quite bumpy before, but now the track is being repaved again, so we’ll see how it goes this weekend. And from a set-up point of view, during the long straight with the huge uphill climb up to Turn 1, you always have to compromise here. Here you don’t need a lot of drag and downforce, but after that it’s the infield where you want it.”
“This is the usual balance around here, but the track has a good flow, there is quite a bit of elevation change which I personally really like, some banked corners, a bit of a warp at many points in the circuit…
“This is just one of the true classic and iconic tracks and so much history has happened here. When you come here and drive to Interlagos and drive to the circuit, you can feel that history and for me I’ve always felt a lot of connection to that history.”
“Curbs are another thing that has changed quite a bit over the years. They’ve changed quite a bit. There are still some curbs left that you can take now, but you have to take them the right way and hit them at the right angle. If you don’t, you’re going to be pretty upset.”
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Interlagos have loosened up their curveball a bit, but like Oliver Bearman last year, they could still catch up, giving his then-teammate Hulkenberg something to think about… Sam Bloxham/Getty Images
“To be honest, there’s not one section that’s important. It’s all over the place, and given the short lap times of about 1 minute 10 seconds or less, the field is always very compact, very tightly grouped, so you have to be dialed in every moment of the lap.”
“I won pole position here 15 years ago, but I think what makes this place so special is that it’s more than that. But the atmosphere and the feeling when you’re in São Paulo, when you’re in Interlagos, that’s what’s important.”
“And when you’re driving around, sometimes when the laps are slow, you get a glimpse of the grandstands. And the São Paulo atmosphere makes it special. There are a lot of cool places around the laps.”
At a glance
Race distance: 71 laps/192.6 miles
2024 pole time: 1 minute 23.405 seconds (Lando Norris, McLaren)
2024 winner: Max Verstappen, Red Bull
The choice of tire compounds for this year’s São Paulo Grand Prix is reminiscent of 2023, with C2, C3 and C4 being hard, medium and soft, one notch more difficult than the trio used last year.
Dry-weather tires weren’t needed for the race last year, but when we used them on Friday and Saturday mornings, we noticed significant wear and grain, especially on the rear axle. The circuit has been resurfaced and although there are still plenty of bumps around the track, it has suffered less wear than the previous year, leaving a very smooth surface.
All things being equal, with the inevitable variations due to asphalt aging, the decision to introduce a harder compound could extend the performance life of tires that are already more resistant to degradation than the 2024 model. If that happens, the software that was used only for sprint qualifying last year may be able to play an active role.
MSC Cruises Sao Paulo Grand Prix Weekend Schedule (all Eastern Time):
Friday, November 7th
9:25am – 10:30am – Free Practice 1, ESPN2
1:25pm – 2:30pm – Sprint Qualifying, ESPN2
Saturday, November 8th
8:55am – 10:00am – Sprint, ESPN2
12:55pm – 2:00pm – GP Qualifying, ESP News
Sunday, November 9th
11:55am – 2pm – Sao Paulo Grand Prix (71 laps or 120 minutes), ESPN2
