MOTOR RACING

By anyone’s standards, Interlagos (“between the lakes”, named after the Swiss town Interlaken) is a throwback to a different era when tracks were not sterilised by constant radius turns and parking-lot-sized runoff areas. Built way back in 1940, it’s been upgraded through the years with its original length cut down substantially, but its DNA remains the same—a fast and challenging track with a havoc-inducing micro-climate of its own. It’s the setting for many world-class motorsport series who come here to face the same challenges drivers have been facing for 70 years: big elevation changes, a long straight that requires low downforce, and a series of turns with tricky cambers that require all the downforce you left behind in the pits. Add to that an unusual number of left-hand turns (10), and you have a unique circuit that is a big favourite for drivers and fans alike.