Motor racing in Brazil began before World War II, with races on the 11.161 km Gávea street circuit in Rio de Janeiro starting in 1934. Construction of Brazil's first permanent autodrome began in 1936 in the São Paulo neighbourhood of Interlagos and was completed in 1940. The Interlagos circuit was inspired in layout by Roosevelt Raceway in the United States and quickly gained a reputation as a tough and demanding venue, with many challenging corners, elevation changes, a rough surface, and little room for error.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was first held at Interlagos in 1972, though it was not part of the Formula One World Championship. It served as a test to determine whether the circuit and its organisers could capably host a Grand Prix. The following year the race entered the championship calendar and was won by defending world champion and São Paulo native Emerson Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi won again in 1974 in rain-soaked conditions. In 1975, another São Paulo native, Carlos Pace, won the race in his Brabham, followed home by Fittipaldi. Carlos Reutemann won in 1977, but drivers began complaining about the very rough Interlagos surface; the event relocated to the new Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro for 1978.
After a year in Rio, the race returned to Interlagos for 1979 and 1980 with new and upgraded facilities; Jacques Laffite won in 1979 for Ligier. However, the surface remained problematic. By 1980 the population of São Paulo had risen sharply and the area surrounding the track had become increasingly run-down. The ground-effect cars of 1981 were especially intolerant of the bumpy 7.873 km circuit. Jody Scheckter attempted to stop the 1981 race from going ahead; it ran but was won by René Arnoux. Formula One then departed to Rio de Janeiro.
The race moved to Jacarepaguá in Rio de Janeiro in 1978, where Argentine Carlos Reutemann dominated in his Ferrari, shod with Michelin tyres — the French manufacturer's first Formula One victory. The flat Jacarepaguá circuit was extremely demanding with long, fast corners, some of them slightly banked, and a very abrasive surface. Races were typically held under high temperatures and high humidity, making them among the most physically exhausting on the calendar; Riccardo Patrese retired from one event due to exhaustion, and Eddie Cheever collapsed twice after exiting his car in 1989.
In 1981, Carlos Reutemann disobeyed team orders to let teammate Alan Jones by and took the victory. In 1982, Nelson Piquet finished first and Keke Rosberg second, but both were disqualified for being underweight in post-race scrutineering during the FISA–FOCA war; the victory was awarded to third-placed Alain Prost, who would go on to win at Jacarepaguá four more times — earning the nickname "the King of Rio". Piquet won in 1983 and 1986. The 1988 race saw Ayrton Senna start from the pit lane in his first race for McLaren after being disqualified for switching to his spare car after the parade lap had begun. The 1989 event, the last at Jacarepaguá, was won by Nigel Mansell in his Ferrari — the first Grand Prix victory by a car equipped with a semi-automatic gearbox.
São Paulo native Ayrton Senna's success in Formula One prompted city officials to invest $15 million in revamping the Interlagos circuit — shortening and smoothing it. The Grand Prix returned to a shortened Interlagos in 1990, won by Alain Prost for his 40th career race victory and sixth Brazilian Grand Prix win. In 1991, Senna won his first Brazilian Grand Prix in an emotionally charged race; his McLaren's manual gearbox was progressively losing gears and near the end he was reduced to sixth gear only, yet he held off Williams driver Riccardo Patrese. Senna's exhaustion was so severe he had to be extricated from his car and caught a ride in the safety car driven by Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior.
In 1993, Alain Prost, now driving a Williams, had a rare accident on the main straight and retired; Ayrton Senna won in a McLaren. In 1994 Senna spun his Williams at Juncao late in the race while running second behind Michael Schumacher, who won. Senna would lose his life in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix a little over a month later. The 1995 race initially had cars of winner Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard excluded for using illegal fuel, then reinstated.
The 2001 Grand Prix was notable for the arrival of Juan Pablo Montoya, who muscled past Michael Schumacher early on and led until Jos Verstappen in an Arrows ran into the back of his Williams-BMW. The 2003 race stands as one of the most chaotic in the event's history: heavy rain caused multiple retirements including then-reigning world champion Michael Schumacher, a collision by Fernando Alonso brought out the red flag, and Giancarlo Fisichella of Jordan was initially denied the victory before the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris overturned the decision days later, awarding Fisichella the win after proving he had crossed the finish line in the lead before the stoppage.
Fernando Alonso became the youngest Formula One World Champion at the time at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, his third-place finish behind winner Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen being enough to clinch the title. In 2006, Felipe Massa took pole and led from start to finish; Michael Schumacher recovered from a puncture on lap nine to finish fourth in his first farewell race. Kimi Räikkönen won the 2007 edition and his first and only Drivers' Championship, beating Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
The final race of the 2008 season produced one of the most dramatic title finishes in the sport's history. Lewis Hamilton needed at least fifth to become champion. A late-race rain shower dropped him behind Timo Glock and Sebastian Vettel. On the final lap, both drivers overtook Glock, who had lost grip on dry-weather tyres, allowing Hamilton to finish fifth and claim the championship while Felipe Massa won the race in his Ferrari. In 2009, Jenson Button secured his Drivers' Championship by finishing fifth, while Mark Webber won the race.
In 2010, German Nico Hülkenberg drove a remarkable lap in wet qualifying to put his non-competitive Williams on pole. Sebastian Vettel won, and the race handed Red Bull the Constructors' Championship. In 2012, Vettel made a very poor start and dropped to 22nd position before climbing to sixth — enough to win his third consecutive Drivers' title, in a race also notable as Michael Schumacher's last Formula One race. In 2016, the Dutch teenager Max Verstappen, son of former F1 driver Jos Verstappen, drove from 16th to third in 15 laps in heavy rain after his Red Bull team's botched tyre strategy.
Formula One returned to Interlagos in 2021 under the new title of São Paulo Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton, having been disqualified from qualifying due to technical infringements, won the main race after starting at the back of the grid. In 2022, Hamilton's teammate George Russell won both the sprint and main races. In 2023 and 2024, Max Verstappen won both main races. The 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix was held under treacherous, changing conditions featuring numerous incidents, safety cars, and red flags. Lando Norris started on pole but Verstappen — who had qualified twelfth and carried a five-place grid penalty, starting seventeenth — won the race nineteen seconds ahead of second place, the first time a driver won from that grid position since Kimi Räikkönen won the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix from seventeenth. Fellow drivers and journalists described Verstappen's performance as that of a regenmeister ("rain master"). Alpine drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly completed the podium in second and third, Alpine's first double podium of any kind since Lotus achieved the feat at the 2013 Korean Grand Prix with Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean.
In October 2013 the contract for the race was extended to 2022. A further extension in November 2020 took it to 2025 and renamed the event the São Paulo Grand Prix for the first time. A 2023 extension runs through 2030. The scheduled 2020 race was cancelled by Formula One Management due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2019, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announced plans to move the race to a new circuit in the Deodoro neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, but this was denied by Formula One's commercial manager Sean Bratches. The Deodoro circuit plans were scrapped in January–February 2021 following the election of new Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes.
The record for most wins at the event is held by Alain Prost with six victories, including five at Jacarepaguá. Carlos Reutemann and Michael Schumacher have each won four times. Five Brazilian drivers have won their home race: Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna, and Felipe Massa each twice, and Carlos Pace once.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
