This weekend sees the final Grand Prix of the season at the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, the track that has hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix since the early nineties. Personally I used to prefer the Brazillian Grand Prix when it was held at the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio De Janeiro. I thought the Rio circuit had a very good layout, the start/finish and back straight both seemed to offer passing opportunities and though it was flat I found the corners quite interesting. Formula One cars looked good going round the bends there.
I find Interlagos is too short for a Grand Prix circuit. It doesn't have that many turns and it just seems too brief and simple, not challenging enough for Formula One drivers. It also has few overtaking areas. The main start/finish straight is mainly a large bend and though in theory overtaking should be possible, it rarely seems to happen there. The pitlane entry is another area of concern, there is a tragedy waiting to happen there, it almost did in 2003 when Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso had massive accidents at that part of the track. A few years back some advertising boarding was left hanging perilously over the main straight when it came loose from a gantry during a race. I just get the feeling that safety concerns are maybe overlooked when it comes to Interlagos so to insure there is a Brazilian Grand Prix on the F1 calender.
I wonder why Rio lost the Formula One race. Probably at the time, the early nineties, Ayrton Senna was the local hero from Sao Paulo and there was commercial as well as popular interest in getting the race moved to Interlagos. I still think that Jacarepaguá was a better venue for modern Grand Prix racing, certainly safer and arguably more exciting.
I find Interlagos is too short for a Grand Prix circuit. It doesn't have that many turns and it just seems too brief and simple, not challenging enough for Formula One drivers. It also has few overtaking areas. The main start/finish straight is mainly a large bend and though in theory overtaking should be possible, it rarely seems to happen there. The pitlane entry is another area of concern, there is a tragedy waiting to happen there, it almost did in 2003 when Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso had massive accidents at that part of the track. A few years back some advertising boarding was left hanging perilously over the main straight when it came loose from a gantry during a race. I just get the feeling that safety concerns are maybe overlooked when it comes to Interlagos so to insure there is a Brazilian Grand Prix on the F1 calender.
I wonder why Rio lost the Formula One race. Probably at the time, the early nineties, Ayrton Senna was the local hero from Sao Paulo and there was commercial as well as popular interest in getting the race moved to Interlagos. I still think that Jacarepaguá was a better venue for modern Grand Prix racing, certainly safer and arguably more exciting.
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