Brazilian Grand Prix
Compared to other countries, Brazil has a relatively short history of its involvement in the F1 World Championship calendar, although the country has a long and illustrious history of motor racing. Brazil can boast many F1 World Champions, such as Emerson Fittipaldi (1972 and 1974), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983 and 1987) and legendary Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990 and 1991) – they are known as the trio of Brazilian Champions. And of course, the most current famous Brazilian driver is Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello. On the back of this, the Brazilian Grand Prix was born in the 1970s, when Brazilian driver, Emerson Fittipaldi exploded onto the international F1 racing scene and put Brazil on the racing map.
The first Brazilian Grand Prix was held in 1973, with Sao Paolo’s Interlagos chosen to host the venue. This was primarily due to the fact that it was Fittipaldi’s home city. The race was long, being just over 8km (5mi) in length and run in a challenging counter-clockwise fashion – only one of three racing circuits that run counter-clockwise: Imola and Kyalami (South Africa) being the other two. The track became known as a lucky circuit for local drivers, with Emerson Fittipaldi, Carlos Pace and Carlos Reutemann all winning Grand Prix at Interlagos in the 1970s. However, since Ayrton Senna’s death, no Brazilian driver has scored points at Interlagos.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was held at the Interlagos track until 1981, when deteriorating circuit conditions forced it to be moved to the Jacarepagua circuit, also known as Autodromo Nelson Piquet, in Rio de Janeiro. It wasn’t until 1990 that Interlagos was able to win back the right to host the Brazilian Grand Prix after modernising and upgrading its track, as well as shortening the circuit to just over 4.3km (2.7mi) and adding the tricky S-shaped curve named after Ayrton Senna – a local hero. Since, then Interlagos has continuously hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix and is currently the only South American country on the F1 World Championship calendar.