09/11/2022
NEWS STORY
Seb: "I have some incredible memories of Brazil, including winning the World Championship there in a very dramatic way back in 2012. It will be amazing to race around this iconic venue for one last time. While we did not perform in Mexico, our form in general has been strong recently. We are firmly in a battle with Alfa Romeo in the Constructors' Championship and we will do everything to maximise the car's potential in these last two races. It is a tough mission, but we are up for it."
Lance: "Interlagos is a great circuit with a buzzing atmosphere and a great flow. It has a true old-school feel and plenty of corners that are rewarding to get right. If we can get the best out of our car this weekend - particularly because the Sprint gives us two opportunities to perform - then we should be able to pick up some crucial points. It is also definitely possible to perform overtakes here, which should put us in a stronger position."
Insight and Speed with Cognizant
Overtaking: Expect plenty of moves to be made throughout the race and in the Sprint. Oval-like circuit characteristics, high tyre wear and tricky braking zones into Turns One and Four all promote overtaking. In fact, over 80 percent of moves are done into T1 or T4 - the end-points of the two long DRS zones.
Safety Cars: The Safety Car often gets used at Interlagos, with 10 appearances in the last five races. The very wet 2016 race featured no fewer than six SC periods. With a low pit-lane time-loss, it is often beneficial to stop during an interruption. VSCs are much less frequent, with the two appearances both coming in 2021.
Strategy: This is regularly a two-stop race due to the ease of overtaking and tyre wear, with Pirelli bringing the C2, C3 and C4 compounds for the last time in 2022. The weather can change in an instant and can cause mayhem during a race weekend, keeping every strategist and mechanic on their toes.
Unlocking the Lap
A lap begins immediately with the tricky 'S' do Senna, named after the Brazilian icon. This is a tricky downhill left-right chicane that merges into the long Curva do Sol.
Heavy braking takes place incredibly late - after the 50-metre board, with drivers decelerating and turning into the cambered, blind-apexed corner, making it easy to lock up. The second part is easy to get wrong by taking too much kerb.
Turn 10 - Bico de Pato - is a tricky little hairpin at the end of a sequence of punishing long bends. This is another corner where it is easy to lock a wheel and run wide and this compromises the exit massively.
The last notable corner - Juncao, Turn 12, has been the scene where races and even a World Championship have been decided. The approach is downhill before a climb up to the corner itself. Deceptively tight, this turn needs to be mastered because of the long, uphill blast to the finish line that follows.