2022 Formula One Sao Paulo Grand Prix

Charles Leclerc Brazilian Grand Prix.jpg
With just two races remaining in the 2022 Formula 1 season, the teams head to Brazil to take on one of the most historic and exciting circuits on the calendar.

Autódromo José Carlos Pace is the site of F1 racing action this weekend. Last year, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen were in the midst of a fierce championship battle, and Brazil proved to be one of the most exciting races of that championship.

This year's race has no such uncertainty or drama, as Verstappen and his Red Bull team have been very much in control of the drivers' and constructors' championship for most of the season.

The Interlagos circuit, however, typically produces exciting racing action from the F1 grid, and this year should be no exception. Its long, DRS-enhanced start/finish straight gives drivers ample opportunity to set up overtakes into turn 1, and a second DRS zone follows just a few corners later.

The circuit has remained largely unchanged for the past 30 years, and its windy, hilly nature has been home to epic F1 memories such as Hamilton's last-to-first weekend in 2021, Verstappen's brilliant wet weather driving in 2016, and Ayrton Senna's unforgettable first home win in 1991 despite having only 6th gear by the end of the race.

This is a sprint race weekend, meaning that the race starting order will be decided with a shortened race on Saturday. The weather is looking unkind all weekend, with rain in the forecast for all three days of the grand prix.

Could the weather make for interesting results this weekend? Who do you think will take the win on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below.
About author
Mike Smith
I have been obsessed with sim racing and racing games since the 1980's. My first taste of live auto racing was in 1988, and I couldn't get enough ever since. Lead writer for RaceDepartment, and owner of SimRacing604 and its YouTube channel. Favourite sims include Assetto Corsa Competizione, Assetto Corsa, rFactor 2, Automobilista 2, DiRT Rally 2 - On Twitter as @simracing604

Comments

Time to get myself into trouble. Everyone is saying Max was getting even with Checo for "purposely" crashing in Monaco.

Uh........didn't George purposely beach his car in the kitty litter during qualification? Hard to believe a pro F1 drivers tried to spin a car into gravel he wasn't already in. :whistling:
 
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Quite a few drivers have contested corners with Max, even if most times, only in one lap or just a few but there's only one precious driver who's car seems to have clashes with Max's car.
Just saying.
I think Lewis is just about done yielding to Max running him out of road.
Sometimes you have to back off and regroup to make another attempt.
Many of the clashes in the 2021 season prior to Silverstone, were instigated by Max taking an overly aggressive 'yield or crash' stance.
He did that quite a bit in 2021...Spain and Imola come to mind.
He then planted his car on top of the Mercedes in Monza.
You don't get to be 7x WDC without knowing how to drive a car to it's absolute limit while defending.
Go look at Lewis' entire career.
People should know by now he is quite capable of doing that as good as anyone else in the field.... if things don't change.
I'm sure if he was a 'dirty' driver he'd have put Max into the wall already.
His defense are 'hard' but fair....look at his battles with Checo, Norris, Schumacher, etc...
He's had a coming together with Albon and immediately put his hand up to say sorry.
This is not some fan bias.
 
Michael Andretti learned to cut rear tires with the endplate of his front wing.(Ask Robbie Gordon, Al Unser, Jimmy Vasser et al) Sir Lewis knows where the strength of his car is. Aside from all the clashes with Max, over the last several years it has not gone well for other drivers that attempt a pass in a corner with Hamilton(Kmag comes to mind). Rarely does Hamilton's car suffer much when he initiates contact. Certainly until this year, not enough to deter him.
So others have felt the pain of Contact with Hamilton, but Max often made attempts that not even Lewis could prevent catastrophe. So after all that, I don't understand how being on the apex can be over-ruled by being ahead. The Brazil Penalty could have gone either way or not at all.
 
I think Lewis is just about done yielding to Max running him out of road.
Sometimes you have to back off and regroup to make another attempt.
Many of the clashes in the 2021 season prior to Silverstone, were instigated by Max taking an overly aggressive 'yield or crash' stance.
He did that quite a bit in 2021...Spain and Imola come to mind.
He then planted his car on top of the Mercedes in Monza.
You don't get to be 7x WDC without knowing how to drive a car to it's absolute limit while defending.
Go look at Lewis' entire career.
People should know by now he is quite capable of doing that as good as anyone else in the field.... if things don't change.
I'm sure if he was a 'dirty' driver he'd have put Max into the wall already.
His defense are 'hard' but fair....look at his battles with Checo, Norris, Schumacher, etc...
He's had a coming together with Albon and immediately put his hand up to say sorry.
This is not some fan bias.
The cold hard truth is that Hamilton has had a career filled with collisions. With Massa, with Rosberg, with Button, with Max, with Albon, the list goes on and on. His move of touching the rear wheel of anybody that is passing him or in front on the outside is infamous. And let's not even start about his "habit" of crowding someone out of the track.
 
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Don't forget about the FIA having to create new laws just to stamp out his dangerous weaving in the braking zones.

Oh, wait... that was... nevermind :coffee:
 
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I do give Hamilton credit where due though, over the years he has executed some perfect DRS overtakes and fully utilised the engine advantage to it's full. 
That's basically what Verstappen has done this year and last, what Vettel did for his WC's....when was the last time the WC was driving a fundamentally inferior car? Twas ever thus.

Even the "but he was so much faster than Perez" applies to all the WCs. To be WC they must have beaten someone in the same car as them.

Best car, best chance to be WC.
 
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Premium
That's basically what Verstappen has done this year and last, what Vettel did for his WC's....when was the last time the WC was driving a fundamentally inferior car? Twas ever thus.

Even the "but he was so much faster than Perez" applies to all the WCs. To be WC they must have beaten someone in the same car as them.

Best car, best chance to be WC.
I see it all very differently to be frank, but, hey, we all have our own views on things. Makes the world go round :)
 
Don't forget about the FIA having to create new laws just to stamp out his dangerous weaving in the braking zones.

Oh, wait... that was... nevermind :coffee:
And they had to erase the rules because they were useless. The FIA is so afraid to have F1 imitate other series solutions that they find themselves trying to reinvent the wheel every time. And more often than not, the new wheel won't even roll.
 
Yes but, talking about PR, which Max doesn't seem to care at all, couldn't he consider that maybe it's nice to be liked?

I know it's me, but considering being LOVED by Mexico fans or being HATED by Mexico fans, I would have given up those points lol. I wanna be loved in the Netherlands and in Mexico and probably by many other people who would have considered it a token of gratitude to everything Checo has done. Maybe that's why I don't have the mentality needed to be an F1 driver, but it's nice to be liked lol.
I think pretty much every motorsport champ (especialy multi champs) are extremely ruthless on track....there are exceptions of course. Max is at the more extreme end of the ruthless scale, I'm sure he won't care if Mexican fans hate him though. I'm like you, I'd have let Perez through, but good guys don't often win and usually just the once.
 

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