“Announcement of the 20th stage of F1. The championship is heading to the legendary Interlagos”, — write: sport.ua
The fate of the championship title has been decided here more than once – maybe it will happen this time as well. Additional intrigue is added by the weather, which will definitely make adjustments to the course of events.
The McLaren drivers approach the São Paulo stage with just one point difference, with Norris having a dominant weekend in Mexico City to overtake Piastre in the standings, while Verstappen closed the gap to 36 points. All three find themselves in a situation where any mistake could either dramatically increase their title chances or effectively wipe them out.
In addition, outside the battle for the championship, the peloton has plenty of other intrigues of its own, which promise to make the Brazilian stage interesting at all levels.
Brazilian Grand Prix schedule:
The results will be added after the completion of the respective race
Friday, November 7:
- Free practice 1: 4:30 p.m. RESULTS
- Sprint qualification: 20:30. RESULTS
Saturday, November 8:
- Sprint: 4:00 p.m. RESULTS
- Qualification: 20:00. RESULTS
Sunday, November 9:
- Race: 7:00 p.m. RESULTS
Features of the track:
Length: 4,309 km
Number of circles: 71
Two DRS zones:
Race lap record: Valtteri Bottas (2018, Mercedes) – 1:10.540
Weather forecast
Traditionally for Brazil, the weather will be difficult to predict, which only adds to the intrigue at the end of a busy season.
On Friday, everything will start quite calmly: the morning should be dry, so the teams will be able to work out a single practice normally. However, closer to the evening, during the sprint qualification, forecasters predict up to 40% chance of rain, and the temperature will remain within 25–28°C.
Saturday promises the most difficult conditions – the day with the sprint and qualifying has the highest risk of precipitation. Thundery showers in the morning may taper off a bit by midday, but the track is likely to be wet during the heats. Wind with gusts up to 75 km/h will make piloting difficult. The temperature will drop to 24-26°C, which will also affect the performance of the rubber.
But Sunday looks the most predictable. The Brazilian Grand Prix is likely to be rain-free, although the track could still receive a few drops during the race. The risk of precipitation is estimated at 20% – not critical, but the weather can still intervene. It will also be much cooler: about 18°C at the time of the start.
Strategy and tires per stage
This year, Pirelli brought one set of harder rubber to Brazil than last season: the C2 hard, C3 medium, C4 soft line more familiar to Sao Paulo. Previously, under such conditions, teams more often chose a strategy with two pit stops, and it is likely that this will be the case this time as well.
Last year, the track was wet and turned into complete chaos, so it makes no sense to make direct comparisons with the strategies of that Grand Prix. This year will depend much more on tire wear in dry conditions and possible weather changes over the weekend.
The main intrigues of the stage:
– The battle for the second place of the Constructors’ Cup
With four stages to the end of the season, the name of the champion is already known, McLaren leads the table by a large margin, but the fight for second place is much tighter. Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull are currently separated by just 10 points.
If the confrontation between Ferrari and Mercedes looks quite equal, then Red Bull’s position is almost exclusively due to Max Verstappen. In the conditions of expected showers and unpredictable weather, the Constructors’ Cup in the group of leaders can be seriously mixed up.
On paper, Red Bull is able to calmly overtake direct competitors – but will Verstappen alone have the strength to pull the team against full duets of rivals? And will Yuki Tsunoda be able to help?
Or maybe the track and the weather will create chaos, which will be exploited by a bunch of competitors from the middle of the peloton – like Alpin did a year ago.
– Gabriel Bortoleto’s first home run
For the first time since 2016, when Felipe Massa ended his career in F1, there will be a pilot from this country at the start of the Brazilian Grand Prix. Rookie of the season Gabriel Bortoleto, the current F2 champion, consistently impresses with results and is not at all lost against the background of experienced partner Nico Hulkenberg.
With the support of the home stands, he will be under additional pressure. The task will not be easy – Sauber adds in form, but is still far from top speeds. So it will be interesting to see how the Brazilian copes with the challenge and if he does not disappoint the local crowd.
– Norris, Piastre or Verstappen – who will make his move?
Last round in Mexico, Lando Norris had his most dominant race of the season, winning by more than 30 seconds. His main rivals in the fight for the title performed much more modestly – Verstappen finished third, and Piastre only fifth. This was enough to regain the championship lead for the first time since the Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia.
But it’s too early to relax – any mistake or technical problem could be very costly with four races to go. Last year, it was here that Verstappen struck his decisive blow in the championship battle, breaking through from 17th place to first (although he took the title later).
It’s also a chance for Piastre to regain his form and for Norris to block any attempts by opponents to catch him. With 33 points at stake this weekend through the sprint format, the stakes are particularly high.
