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12 Nov 2015, 08:13 (Ref:3589890) | #1 | |
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Brazilian Grand Prix 2015: Weekend Thread
Interlagos – this is one of the great circuits and almost always stages drama and emotion. The Grande Prêmio do Brasil is a race to be relished and it doesn’t matter if there is a championship at stake or not. It has hosted opening and closing races to many seasons and now that it brings us the penultimate Grand Prix of 2015, that there is no title to play for matters not a jot. The raucous and ebullient fans cheer from the grandstands that sit so close to the circuit that they make an amphitheatre of it. The track plunges downhill into Turn 1, setting the drivers off on a rollercoaster ride of a lap, with some interesting gradient changes affecting the corners. It is a bit like Suzuka in that regard, but less polished a place, and although like many a track any bumps have been smoothed out, it remains nonetheless a traditional track with a rough-round-the-edges quality.
The only track with facilities that eschew the contemporary slickness of 21st Century Formula 1 (even when Bernie Ecclestone was busy panning Silverstone seemingly every month, Interlagos curiously escaped his ire), São Paulo continues to bring us nailbiting tension, spectacular overtakes and big upsets year on year. Before we go back to the new world of the Middle East, let us enjoy a final fling at raw racing in an oldschool setting at a place with evocative corner names instead of mere numbered turns. There is so much for us to look forward to. Triple World Champion Lewis Hamilton arrives in Interlagos having yet to ever win a Brazilian Grand Prix and saying that it would be a salute to Senna if he does so. In 2008, he took his first championship by the skin of his teeth, in the famous race where Felipe Massa was supposedly “world champion for 30 seconds”. This notion is actually a complete misconception as Ferrari and Felipe celebrated too early. It had been raining and Hamilton and race leader Massa both pitted for intermediates, but in their haste to celebrate, the Scuderia had not allowed for Hamilton finding a way past Timo Glock who was slithering about on his dry-weather tyres. That he did so at the final corner of the season to take the points he needed capped one of the most dramatic endings to a sporting event in recorded history. The Constructors’ Championship seemed little comfort for Ferrari, as a mechanic headbutted a glass wall in the pits and Fiat president Luca di Montezemolo reportedly broke a TV. 2008 is one of two home victories for Felipe Massa. The other was in 2006 when he led from pole to the finish. It was Michael Schumacher who made all the headlines, though, in his swansong (at the time) race, after having hit problems in qualifying, which restricted him to 10th on the grid. He was relegated to 19th place on Lap 9 after a collision and made it back to fourth, overtaking Kimi Räikkönen near the end. It was the Finn who won his only world championship to date the next year, when he also took his sole win in Interlagos so far, vanquishing McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso who finished the season tied on points, but with Lewis coming out ahead in the title race on countback. Lewis had been heading into the race with a decent chance of an astonishing and unique championship in a debut year. However, he ran wide at the end of the Reta Oposta and then hit car trouble. It might not have been the only win for Kimi. In 2003, Renault’s Fernando Alonso shunted on the start-finish straight, bringing out the red flags in a wet race in which he speared into the inside wall. Räikkönen was declared the victor on countback, despite Giancarlo Fisichella taking the chequered flag having overtaken the McLaren driver. The Jordan winner entered the pits on fire in a strange ending to a strange race. The decision to award the win to Räikkönen was overturned in the F.I.A. Court of Appeal in Paris a few days later when it was confirmed that Fisi was in fact the winner, because he had crossed the line in the lead twice before Alonso’s crash (the race result was taken from the running order two laps before the race stoppage). Fisichella claimed his winner’s trophy back from Kimi in a bizarre start-finish ceremony at the next Grand Prix, taking Jordan’s final win in Formula 1. Despite being quicker recently, Kimi will hopefully be looking to put some scrappy outings behind him (if the nonchalant Finn ever had them in front of him). He hasn’t been performing at the level of team-mate Sebastian Vettel recently, though. Nonetheless, the four-time world champion also had an uncharacteristically messy race in Mexico which culminated in his binning the Ferrari. In 2012, Vettel took his third consecutive championship, despiting spinning on the first lap and narrowly avoiding being hit. This year, Vettel is going for runner-up spot in the championship against Rosberg, who won here last year. Another memorable year was 2001, when Juan-Pablo Montoya announced his presence on the Formula 1 scene with an audacious move on Michael Schumacher to take the lead, before being taken out by current F1 star Max Verstappen’s father Jos. Back in 1997, eventual world champion of that year Jacques Villeneuve won the race after having got in a tangle at the first corner. Unlike these days, if there was a red flag back then, you could jump into the spare car. All these examples are fairly modern, but Brazilian Grands Prix had started being run at the Gavea circuit in Rio de Janeiro in 1936. Interlagos was first developed when in the late 1930s, two property developers bought the land, only to discover it was unsuitable for housing. It was finished in 1940. Like the previous race in Mexico City, the first Grand Prix held at the circuit wasn’t a world champioship event, joining the Formula 1 World Championship the following year. São Paulo native Emerson Fittipaldi won the inaugural Formula 1 race for Lotus. The race switched to the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio in 1981 before moving back to Interlagos in 1990 on a reconfigured circuit. Interlagos is full of tricky camber changes, ascents and descents. The drivers dive into Turn 1, a downhill left-hander nowadays known as the Senna ‘S’, which then goes 90 right and which is followed by a long left-hander, the Curva do Sol. This takes them onto the Reta Oposta, an opportunity for overtaking present here particularly on the opening lap depending on the exit from the previous corner. From my understanding of Portuguese, ‘Reta Oposto’ should mean ‘back straight’. The explanation for why this would therefore be the back straight lies in a comparison with the old layout used before the 80s. The track used to go left at Curva 1 and go out wider than the Senna ‘S’ takes them nowadays. So, the Curva do Sol was a corner which was on the infield of the old circuit and was followed by the Reta Oposto. A look at an old track map shows the wider layout of the former configuration. Back to 2015 and the drivers enter the Descida do Lago, which is a really quick left-hander for which they brake extremely late (around 50 metres before the turn). They have to maintain speed and not run wide, which it is easy to do. There are two apexes here. This takes them back onto another brief straight before they begin to ascend again. The tremendous Ferradura (which means ‘Horse Shoe’) and Laranjinha (named after a fruit) is effectively a long double-apex right-hander and getting themselves on the apex is essential to winding the car up the hill effectively. Once they plateau, drivers enter some of the tricky, technical corners, the cambers presenting them with an added challenge. Right-hander Turn 8 doesn’t seem to have a name and goes into the Pinheirinho (Little Pine Tree) left-hander. ‘Bico do Pato’ (Duck Bill) follows and is a lot like Turn 8, but it’s particularly easy to lock up here on the way in. Mergulho is a quick left-hander where drivers keep their foot planted but have to be careful to balance the car on the correct line before they dare to brake as late as possible for Junçao, carrying a lot of speed in, but maintaining traction up the hill before taking the Subida dos Boxes and Arquibancadas curves, two left-handers which are basically a case of maintaining speed and possibly lining themselves up for a pass. What a magnificent circuit Interlagos is. If the track wasn't exciting enough, the weather also loves to throw a spanner in the works. The climate lends itself to sudden and unpredictable downpours. The forecast at the moment is showing possible storms on Saturday for qualifying and dry on Sunday. Constructors’ championship standings: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...standings.html Drivers’ championship standings: http://www.formula1.com/content/fom-...standings.html Circuit length: 4.309km Number of laps: 71 Race distance: 305.909km Dry weather tyre compounds: Soft and Medium DRS Detection Zone 1: Between Turns 1 and 2 (the Senna ‘S’) DRS Activation Zone 1: Between Turns 3 and 4 (on Reta Oposta) DRS Detection Zone 2: After Turn 13 DRS Activation Zone 2: Just before Turn 15, final corner Arquibancadas Speed trap: Near end of start-finish straight Lap Record: 1:11.473 – Juan-Pablo Montoya – Williams-BMW (2004) First World Championship Grand Prix: 1973 First World Championship Grand Prix on current layout: 1990 |
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12 Nov 2015, 09:51 (Ref:3589898) | #2 | |
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Wow! Epic introduction, well done Born Racer!
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12 Nov 2015, 11:36 (Ref:3589911) | #3 | |
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Thanks, wnut. I know I didn't go too much into the older races here. In the time constraints I was under, I preferred to concentrate on some of the big moments of recent times and discuss the circuit itself, which is my favourite on the calendar. I just wish I could drive the real one rather than only on my Playstation, so I could speak with more authority about what it's like to drive.
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12 Nov 2015, 16:06 (Ref:3589941) | #4 | |||
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Quote:
great intro again BR! certainly a daunting task just limiting the intro to only a few great moments as there have been so so many. liked the reminder of JPM's pass on schumi in 2001. it was audacious but as audacious as his pass on future team mate Kimi in and after the pit exit in 2004? JPM's last drive for Williams, their only win of the year, and their last real win (perhaps thats a bit harsh but i guess i dont really rate their 2012 Spanish GP win). anyways, wish there was a better clip of it but this was the best i could quickly find. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODMe6fWHAtM |
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12 Nov 2015, 16:36 (Ref:3589945) | #5 | ||
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Classic Brazil moments #273 - Half the field aquaplaning off at the river flowing at the Senna S. 2003 was it?
Classic Brazil Moments #474 - Hamiltons incredible WDC win - last race, last lap, last corner. Classic Brazil Moments #372 - Advertising hordings randomly falling onto the track. Classic Brazil moments #670 - Kimi taking a wrong turn during the race. I love this place. |
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12 Nov 2015, 16:48 (Ref:3589949) | #6 | ||
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What an excellent intro.
This is one race and track that usually produces the goods. Let's hope it does this weekend. |
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12 Nov 2015, 17:44 (Ref:3589958) | #7 | |
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Great intro, BR. Love the Interlagos circuit. It has character - and the Brazilians love F1.
Other great moments from this circuit :- 1991 : Senna taking his first Brazilian win in front of his home crowd. He had car problems(his gearbox was failing and I think he had to use one gear towards the end). Winning just 2.9 seconds ahead of Patrese. 1993 : Senna again. Winning in the wet. 2001 : JPM's pass on Schumi. Then his got punted off by an Arrows. It went to another wet weather type race, and Coulthard pulled a pass on Schumi to take the win. Superb stuff. In other F1 news, this is a track that Lewis has never won on. Nico seems strong here(he did win last year). There's some tension in the Mercedes team still. Plus, with all the media fuss over Lewis' car crash. |
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12 Nov 2015, 19:56 (Ref:3589988) | #8 | |||
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Blummin' brilliant introduction.
Who will Mercedes chose to win the race his weekend? This is how it works, I read it on the Internet. Quote:
Apparently it was caused by the aero of the Williams being odd. It's true, I read it on the Internet. |
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12 Nov 2015, 20:42 (Ref:3589996) | #9 | |
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Wasn't that a crash a bit like the Grosjean - Verstappen crash at Monaco?
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12 Nov 2015, 17:57 (Ref:3589962) | #10 | |
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Hope it will be a wet race.
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12 Nov 2015, 20:46 (Ref:3589997) | #11 | ||
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Yes, a very similar cause.
Shhhh |
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13 Nov 2015, 15:42 (Ref:3590180) | #12 | ||
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Home, is where I want to be but I guess I'm already there I come home, she lifted up her wings guess that this must be the place |
13 Nov 2015, 18:55 (Ref:3590207) | #13 | |||
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Quote:
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14 Nov 2015, 20:49 (Ref:3590422) | #14 | ||
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Nico's on pole again, claiming his career 21st pole and denying Lulu that elusive 50th career pole, followed by the Ferraris. Ricciardio's at the back with Alonso, after an engine penalty.
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13 Nov 2015, 22:37 (Ref:3590247) | #15 | |
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Great intro BR.
I see where Rosberg is blaming those dastardly WEC cars for the Interlagos track breaking up. I assume he was there to witness this happening last year. However there is plenty of evidence of Mark Webber trying (and not succeeding) in trying to widen the track. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/121793 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbxx8OQrY6w |
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14 Nov 2015, 04:00 (Ref:3590279) | #16 | |
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Rosberg in autosport: "They've changed the kerbs a lot so now we can't attack the kerbs and have to drive round them"
Yes, that's exactly what you should have to do, provided they are not actually dangerous it means the design of the kerbs is good. |
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14 Nov 2015, 22:03 (Ref:3590439) | #17 | ||
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The older I get, the faster I was. |
14 Nov 2015, 13:18 (Ref:3590350) | #18 | |
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+1
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He who dares wins! He who hesitates is lost! |
14 Nov 2015, 15:01 (Ref:3590363) | #19 | |
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lol right? oh noes, enforcing track limits, whatever next?
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14 Nov 2015, 17:53 (Ref:3590386) | #20 | ||
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so Renault used 12 tokens to upgrade the engine that makes Ricciardo 1 tenth slower than Kvyat with the old engine?
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14 Nov 2015, 22:31 (Ref:3590447) | #21 | ||
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Turn 2 and turn 8 may catch a few out tomorrow. No kerb cutting anymore..
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14 Nov 2015, 23:19 (Ref:3590457) | #22 | ||
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FWIW I saw a Rosberg interview where he said those things. He was just pointing it out and, as his pole position confirmed, simply dealt with it.
Change the kerbs and they still race and drive fast. It would be wierder if they didn't notice and worse if they did but didn't tell us. Although, of course, he only got pole because Mercedes decided that it was his turn. |
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15 Nov 2015, 01:11 (Ref:3590470) | #23 | |||
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Quote:
Last edited by bjohnsonsmith; 15 Nov 2015 at 01:21. Reason: Typo |
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"If you're not winning you're not trying." Colin Chapman. |
15 Nov 2015, 10:07 (Ref:3590562) | #24 | ||
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I see Alonso and Button joking around, posing on the podium.
$100 million fine for mclaren. |
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15 Nov 2015, 11:34 (Ref:3590578) | #25 | ||
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No chance Max has retired.
Or has he, he's been in the media a lot recently. Does he have a book to promote or something? |
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Brum brum |
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