2023 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix to host season’s final Sprint race

For the third and final leg of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship’s American triple-header, teams are in São Paulo this weekend for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The race, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, serves as round 21 on the 2023 calendar and will include the final standalone Sprint race of the year.

The action all takes place at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, a circuit known to most fans as Interlagos due to it being situated between two lakes. The 2.7-mile circuit’s compact layout means there’s generally quite a lot of overtaking, and drivers also frequently have to go off the racing line. A non-stop succession of corners also keeps drivers working.

Apart from the long uphill Arquibancada left-hander, most of those corners are reasonably short, meaning that lateral loads on the tires aren’t too punishing. Pirelli has nominated its C2 compound as the white hard, the C3 as the yellow medium, and the C4 red soft.

The weather in Brazil at this time of year can range from intense heat to torrential rain; some grooves have been cut in the asphalt to help drainage in the event of heavy rain. However, looking at the current forecast for São Paulo, there should be fine weather throughout the weekend.

The Brazil round will be the last this year for the Sprint race. This season, the Sprint race was made a standalone event rather than the qualifier for the main race, as was previously the case. It still has championship points on the table for both drivers and teams, however. The Sprint race takes place on Saturday, with qualifying brought forward to Friday and the main race remaining on Sunday.

Although Red Bull Racing and star driver Max Verstappen have already claimed the Constructors’ and Drivers’ titles this season, the battle for second in both cases is very much alive. Verstappen also has a chance to further extend his record tally of wins in a single season from the current 16.

Going into the weekend, Verstappen’s unbeatable tally in the 2023 Drivers’ Championship stands at 491 points. Fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez is second with 240 points and Mercedes-Benz AMG’s Lewis Hamilton is third with 220 points. In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull sits on 731 points. Mercedes is second with 371 points and Ferrari is third with 349 points. Last year’s winner in Brazil was George Russell driving for Mercedes.