São Paulo, São Paulo · BR
Brazil's beloved anti-clockwise circuit in São Paulo. Interlagos has hosted some of F1's most dramatic finales, with its undulating terrain, unpredictable weather, and some of the most passionate fans in motorsport.
Interlagos is short, anti-clockwise and set in a natural bowl, which gives it something most modern circuits lack — spectators can see a large proportion of the lap from a single vantage point. The lap drops from the start into the Senna S, a fast downhill left-right that invites first-lap chaos, runs out to the long Reta Oposta, then works back uphill through the infield to Junção, the corner that determines the climb to the line. The surface is famously bumpy and the elevation change is constant.
The crowd is a defining part of the weekend and among the most vocal in motorsport. The circuit is well served by rail: CPTM Line 9 runs to Autódromo station about 600 m away, with an express service from Pinheiros on race weekends. It sits in São Paulo's southern suburbs rather than a resort setting, so most visitors stay centrally and travel in.
The land was bought in 1926 by developers intending to build housing. The 1929 crash killed that plan, and a racing circuit was built instead — construction started in 1938 and the track was inaugurated in May 1940. The original layout was long, tortuous and anti-clockwise, winding back on itself within the bowl.
The circuit was renamed in 1985 for José Carlos Pace, the Brazilian Formula 1 driver who won here in 1975 and died in a plane crash in 1977. To bring the Grand Prix back to São Paulo it was substantially rebuilt, shortened to roughly 4.3 km in line with contemporary circuit lengths, and reopened on 23 March 1990 after a renovation costing around $15 million.
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