BRAZIL: Formula 1 returns to Interlagos for the Sao Paulo GP, one of its most famous and historic venues, for the penultimate race of the 2022 season.
Sao Paulo GP (2021) at Interlagos will go down in Formula 1’s history as an awe-inspiring race
Lewis Hamilton, officially declared an honorary citizen of Brazil earlier this week, took his third win at Interlagos last year.
Starting the race from P10, he sliced through the field before passing Max Verstappen later in the race en route to a come-from-behind win which saw him set off in pursuit of championship leader, Max Verstappen.
In the sprint event a day before the race, he overtook 15 cars within 24 laps. He started from P20 after being excluded from the qualification results. The disqualification came after his Mercedes W12’s rear wing was found in breach of Formula 1 regulations.
This year, however, there won’t be a thrilling title decider like in 2008, 2009, or 2012 because Max Verstappen and Red Bull already hold both Formula 1 titles. However, early forecasts suggest that the drivers may face challenging conditions at Interlagos.
As the Sao Paulo GP is a sprint weekend, FP1 and qualifying will take place on Friday. According to weather reports, it will be overcast, and there will be up to a 70% chance of rain during the day.
Expectations are that the temperature will reach 25°C on Friday when qualification will set the grid for sprint qualifying, but there is a 40% chance of thunderstorms over Sao Paulo.
Sprint qualifying will take place in Brazil at 4.30 p.m. local time, with temperatures expected to be slightly cooler at 22°C, with overcast conditions expected to persist on Saturday.
However, the likelihood of precipitation during the day is up to 90% in the morning and 65% in the afternoon. The temperature during sprint qualifying might reach 22°C.
The teams and drivers also face another cloudy, humid day for Sunday’s Sao Paulo GP main event, which begins at 3 p.m. local time with a chance of rain of up to 80% in the afternoon.
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