The 5 most notable Brazilian Grands Prix at Interlagos

1991: Senna, prophet in his country

Ayrton Senna winner, at the end of the effort, of his national Grand Prix © GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

In 1991, Ayrton Senna had already won almost everything: around thirty Grand Prix victories, 2 world titles... but never his national Grand Prix, to his greatest despair. The Brazilian has only one thing in mind: winning his race, at home in São Paulo. The pressure is at its peak, Senna absolutely wants to win in front of his audience. He will even go so far as to isolate himself, completely cut off from the world, in the days preceding the race.

Then arrives the Grand Prix, the event not to be missed. Senna starts on pole ahead of both Williams by Mansell and Patrese. The pilot McLaren quickly takes the lead and takes a comfortable lead. Victory does not seem to be slipping from his hands... but fate decides to make his task more complicated. On the 46th lap, Senna lost 3rd gear, then 5th gear, then 2nd… On the 62nd lap, only the 6th gear of the McLaren-Honda worked, while there were still 10 laps remaining!

At the cost of a Herculean effort, Ayrton Senna managed to manage his car to the finish and into first place: the Brazilian won to the cries of the public who chanted his name! The double world champion let out a huge cry of relief and pain as he crossed the finish line, while the McLaren-Honda came to a halt on the celebration lap. Senna, exhausted from his race and injured, struggles to get out of his car and to brandish the cup on the podium. He declared, at the end of the race: “I believe I have gone into the unknown of human beings”. Enough to further fuel the legend of “Magic Senna”…

2003: Chaos on all levels

The accident of Mark Webber then Fernando Alonso brought the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix to a premature end, amidst the surrounding chaos © THIERRY BOVY / DPPI

Chaos is an understatement for the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. In changing conditions, the race quickly turned into a festival of accidents of all kinds. The 700th Grand Prix in history will remain as one of the most tormented in Formula 1. Nearly three hours before the start of the race, a violent storm hit Interlagos. The precipitation is so heavy that it floods the press room. The traditional pilots' parade is even canceled, but the race is maintained.

Rubens Barrichello started from pole and kept the lead after the first laps under Safety Car. Like Senna 12 years earlier, the Brazilian absolutely wants to win at home... but he won't have the same luck as his compatriot. There Ferrari stops suddenly when running out of fuel! The start of a race with twists and turns... Later in the race, several cars will crash into the wall at Curva do Sol, after Senna's S. Pizzonia then Montoya lost control and hit the wall outside turn 3. While a crane came to free the two cars, Schumacher comes out in the same place and almost hits her! Jenson Button will experience the same mishap in the same place a few laps later.

The cars of Pizzonia, Montoya and Schumacher will end up in the same wall… © GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

But it is the outcome of the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix which is the most confusing. Webber lost control of his Jaguar on the climb towards the start-finish straight and violently hit the wall of tires on the outside, scattering debris across the entire width of the track. Fernando Alonso fails to avoid a tire and creates another accident. The track is impassable, red flag and end of the race. Kimi Räikkönen was then declared the winner… even though it was Giancarlo Fisichella who was in the lead, after overtaking the McLaren a lap earlier!

In total confusion, the Finn is on the top step of the podium, ahead of a disillusioned Fisichella and an absent Alonso with an injured ankle. Justice will be served a few days later after a review by the FIA, with Fisichella rehabilitated following a mini-ceremony the following weekend at Imola.

McLaren and Räikkönen return the first place trophy to Jordan and Fisichella at Imola © GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

2008: One last legendary lap

Lewis Hamilton won his first title in a totally extraordinary way at Interlagos © GILLES LEVENT / DPPI

Before the incredible outcome of the 2021 season between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, in the last lap in Abu Dhabi, there had already been a precedent, and the Briton was also involved there. 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton arrives 7 points ahead of Felipe Massa in the championship. The Brazilian, supported by an entire population who have been waiting for a successor to Ayrton Senna for 17 years, started on pole on a circuit soaked by torrential rain a few minutes before the start. He keeps the lead at the start and quickly flies to the front. Behind, David Coulthard will not even see the end of the first lap of his last Grand Prix in Formula 1, hit by a Williams in Senna's S.

The weather is unstable and makes reading strategies and the track complicated. Lewis Hamilton only needs a 5th place to be crowned champion… but navigates the peloton, less comfortable than usual in the rain. First twist: Sebastian Vettel, then a promising young talent at Toro Rosso, overtakes Lewis Hamilton who falls to 6th place with 4 laps remaining! Massa, still in the lead, is then virtually world champion!

It is then that F1 will experience one of its last, most legendary rounds in its history. Hamilton and Vettel had chosen to stop a few laps earlier to put on wet tires, since the rain had returned 10 laps from the finish. A bet that some drivers did not follow, like Timo Glock. On the last lap, while the rain increased in intensity, the Toyota is in total distress.

Fourth at the start of the last lap, the German lost several tens of seconds and was overtaken by Vettel and by… Hamilton in the last corner! The Briton returned to 5th in the last corner, of the last lap, of the last Grand Prix of the season. In the Ferrari garage, we are already celebrating the title of Felipe Massa, winner and world champion for… 30 seconds. The McLaren driver and his garage are jubilant, the Ferrari driver and his garage are amazed.

The Massa family and the Ferrari clan, seconds after the news that Lewis Hamilton overtook Glock… © ERIC VARGIOLU / DPPI

2012: Vettel's fantastic comeback

Another fantastic outcome of the season, the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. At the dawn of the last Grand Prix of the year, Sebastian Vettel is 13 points ahead of Fernando Alonso who has outperformed all season, with a Ferrari that is however less strong than its competitors Red Bull and McLaren. On paper, the German should seek a third title without much difficulty at Interlagos. Starting 3th, three places ahead of the Spaniard, Vettel will nevertheless experience a start which could have cost him the championship. At the 4th turn, the Red Bull driver was hit twice by the Williams of Bruno Senna. In a spin and with an affected car, the German leaves dead last…

First lap: Vettel is hit by Senna's Williams and finds himself spinning! © FREDERIC LE FLOC'H / DPPI

Sebastian Vettel will then produce a high-class score to get back into the peloton. In changing conditions and with a damaged Red Bull, he grabbed position after position to get back into contact with Fernando Alonso. During this time, the Spaniard pushed, even had a few scares in places, and also produced a race close to perfection, like his season. He also benefits from the clash between Hamilton and Hulkenberg at the front to recover some positions. Unfortunately, despite finishing in 2nd place behind Jenson Button, the Ferrari driver fell 3 points behind Vettel, who managed to finish in 6th place in the Grand Prix. One of the most epic ranged duels in history.

Sebastian Vettel carried in triumph after acquiring his 3rd title in Brazil © ERIC VARGIOLU / DPPI

2016: Verstappen, master of the rain

Brazil 2016, one of Verstappen's first flashes of genius in the rain © Eric Vargiolu / DPPI.

The last rainy edition of the Brazilian Grand Prix, in 2016, was almost as chaotic as the previous ones. Even before the start, on a completely wet track, Romain Grosjean hits the wall on its grid turn while sliding on a gutter of water. There Haas is destroyed and the Frenchman cannot participate in the race, even though he had qualified in 7th place the day before.

The departure is then postponed by 10 minutes. This will be given under the orders of the safety car. Pilots are especially concerned about the behavior of the Pirelli “maxi-rain” tires which, according to them, do not sufficiently drain rainwater. After several training laps under Safety Car, a rolling start is given... for 6 laps, since the safety car is deployed after a big accident by Marcus Ericsson on the climb towards the start-finish straight. The Sauber finishes its race at the pit entrance, the front wing is planted right in the middle of the road.

Ericsson's single-seater after its accident, which will cause a first safety car © DPPI

On the restart, what we feared happened: Räikkönen hydroplaned at 250 km/h when he crossed the timing line, hit the wall and narrowly missed being hit by Or with. The disorder is such that Charlie Whiting decides this time to wave the red flag. After a 20-minute interruption, the cars returned to the track... before seeing a new red flag 7 laps later, the marshals decided not to take any risks. After long minutes of waiting, the race finally resumes its rights. This is where Verstappen will put on a show, in every sense of the word. On the 32nd lap, he made a magnificent overtake from the outside on Nico Rosberg at Curva do Sol.

A few laps later, the Dutchman lost control while accelerating towards the start-finish straight, and miraculously caught himself without touching the wall. Trapped by a Safety Car following the accident of Felipe Massa – who at the time thought he would experience his last Grand Prix in Formula 1, before being recalled by Williams in 2017 – the young Red Bull driver will continue to overtake in the peloton until he regained his 3rd place (even though he was 15th with 16 laps to go!). A majuscule performance which was only a foretaste of Verstappen’s entire technical palette…

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