SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Preview: 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix

I will be taking the course during the 2004 season using EA's F1 Challenge '99-'02 and Ralph Hummerich's excellent RH 2004 Season carset that's available from this link.

A Lap of Interlagos

Interlagos, like Suzuka in Japan, has it's grid on a slight gradient. This results in a tricky start and (usually) a number of jumped starts as drivers release the brakes on their cars but don't let the clutch out resulting in their moving before the lights go out.

The start/finish straight leads into Descida do Sol a tight (55mph) left hander that descends very steeply. It is usually taken in 2nd gear and is often the scene of either a brave overtaking move (it is the main overtaking point on the track as was so graphically pointed out by both Coulthard and Montoya on Schumacher in 2001) or a first lap pile up.

This leads straight into the Senna 'S'. Unlike most Senna S's this was named before the Brazilian's death in 1994 and was integrated into the circuit from it's original revamp in the late 80s (Circuits around the world went through a spate of putting in 70mph 2nd gear chicanes and calling them Senna S's). These are taken at between 80-90 mph in 3rd gear, the left hand part of it opening out into Curva do Sol which is taken at 135 mph in 4th gear leading out into the back straight where the cars will be getting up to their maximum speeds of around 190mph (in top gear obviously) before breaking down into Descida do Lago which is entered at 80mph in 4th gear and exited at 130mph in 5th gear (it was here that Verstappen forgot to brake and hit Montoya's leading Williams in 2001).

You then accelerate uphill (it was here where Coulthard, Hill and Schumacher had an epic battle for the lead in 1995) into the Ferradura which is a double right hander taken at 105-110mph in third gear this then leads onto a slow downhill right-left (called Laranja and Pinheirinho). Laranja is taken at 50mph in 2nd and Pinheirinho is taken in 2nd at 70mph, you then briefly accelerate back uphill before breaking down to 45mph for the slowest corner on the circuit, Cotovelo (it is well worth watching Montoya taking this corner as he seems to be an absolute nut through it!).

All this twisting infield is very bumpy and hard work on the drivers. You then accelerate out downhill through the Mergulho left-hander which is a tricky corner made all the more difficult to balance the car through due to a bad bump about a third of the way through (this seems to regularly catch Villeneuve out — he nearly always seems to crash here at some point in the weekend — almost as regularly as he crashes at Eau Rouge at Spa!).

You then get to accelerate up to 150mph in 4th gear before breaking for the Juncao which is the last proper corner on the track which is a left hander taken at 65mph taken in third. The rest of the lap is more akin to oval racing as the last named corner (just as you turn into the extremely long pit straight) Arquibancadas is more of a feather on the throttle (if that) as you enter the main start/finish straight at 155mph.

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