The Brazilian Grand Prix TV Schedule and Chat
The Brazilian Grand Prix
Interlagos
Interlagos, Sao Paulo, 5-7 NovemberFriday 5 NovemberSaturday 6 NovemberPractice one: 1155-1335
Practice two:1555-1735
Sunday 7 NovemberPractice three: 1255-1405
Qualifying: 1500-1720, BBC One TVCatchup
Race: 1500-1815, BBC One TVCatchup
Highlights: 2300-midnight, BBC Three TVCatchup
Circuit informationLap data
Lap length: 5.621km (3.493 miles)
Race laps: 55
Race distance: 309.155km (192.1 miles)
Maximum speed: 310 kph (192.625 mph)
Car performance
Full throttle: 53%
Tyre wear: High
Brake wear: Low
Downforce level: 8/10
Gear changes per lap: 47
Strategy
2010 prime tyre: (No stripe) Hard
2010 option tyre: (Striped) Soft
Last race (2009)
Jenson Button won the Formula One World Championship after finishing fifth in a scrappy race at Interlagos in Brazil won by Mark Webber. Robert Kubica of BMW and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton also finished on the podium despite starting down in 17th. The result saw Brawn claim the constructors' title, becoming the first team to take the crown in their first full season.
Title rival and Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello's fate was sealed after suffering a late puncture while being passed by Button's English compatriot Lewis Hamilton: he pitted and came home in eighth for a solitary point.
Button, who started 14th after a wet, disastrous qualifying session on Saturday, was on course to win the title regardless. He resumed after his final pitstop in front of Heikki Kovalainen but was passed by the McLaren soon after; that would have seen him finish with 10 points more than Barrichello with the Brazilian up in third, tellingly with more race wins to his name.
However first pole sitter Barrichello was passed by Hamilton then the previous world champion's team-mate Kovalainen came in for a further stop to promote Button to sixth.
Circuit Preview for Brazilian Grand Prix – Interlagos
Interlagos a technical lookAs the end of the season approaches, the F1 circus again goes halfway around the world – to South America.
The Brazilian Grand Prix is one of the toughest on the F1 calendar. The four point three kilometre circuit ‘between the lakes’, as Interlagos means when translated, demands everything of the drivers’ skills.
Engines UsedThe Interlagos circuit provides some big technical challenges for the teams regarding setup, the very bumpy track surface and anti-clockwise direction means finding the right chassis compromise can be tricky.
Aerodynamics
The contrasting nature of the Interlagos circuit makes very different demands on the cars. The first and last sectors are made up primarily of long straights, where good top speed is necessary to maintain competitiveness and protect position; this means a low level of downforce is required. However, the middle sector requires the opposite: high downforce to ensure good grip under acceleration, braking and cornering through the twisting series of hairpins. Balancing these requirements gives an optimum downforce setting for achieving the fastest possible lap-time. However, this optimum is then skewed by the demands of racing with other cars. To do so successfully requires competitive end of straight speeds – and achieving these may drag us away from our optimum downforce to a slightly lower setting which allows the drivers to overtake and defend their position into turn 1. This means we use downforce levels similar to a circuit such as Bahrain.
Mechanical setup
The combination of high and low-speed corners means it is hard to find a suitable mechanical compromise at Interlagos. Just as with our choice of aero level, we prioritise certain sectors of the circuit over others. The most important corner at Interlagos is turn 12, as it determines your speed along the uphill main straight – a full throttle period lasting over 15 seconds. We therefore pay special attention ensuring the car gets a good exit from this corner, even though this can generate some slow-speed understeer in the middle sector. However, any losses incurred with this understeer are outweighed by the benefits in lap-time and competitiveness achieved in sector 3. The second important factor for the mechanical set-up is the track surface. This was traditionally very bumpy, but the resurfacing in 2004 allowed teams to run lower ride heights, and the situation improved again last year. The circuit is relatively easy on the brakes, with just three major braking events, and overall braking energy similar to somewhere like Barcelona.
Engine
The long main straight at Interlagos means engine power is a critical factor at this circuit, and the longest single period at full throttle is over 15 seconds. All the engines, though, must contend with the effects of running at altitude, as the circuit is situated around 800m above sea level. The reduced atmospheric pressure costs the engines around 7% of their power output; as a result, the 60% of the lap spent at full throttle is equivalent to 56% at sea level. While this reduces the demands on some components such as the pistons, other parts of the engine, such as the crankshaft, are still subjected to significant loadings. Driveability is also an important factor, especially through the winding middle sector. The drivers run in the lowest gears at this point on the circuit, with sudden changes of direction and significant brake and throttle inputs. Smooth power delivery can make a real and significant contribution to maintaining a stable balance, and optimum driving lines, in this part of the circuit.
Driver New engines used Nick Heidfeld 9 Felipe Massa 9 Fernando Alonso 8 Christian Klien 7 Jenson Button 7 Lewis Hamilton 7 Michael Schumacher 7 Nico Rosberg 7 Sebastian Vettel 8
Adrian Sutil 7 Vitantonio Liuzzi 7 Sebastien Buemi 7 Jaime Alguersuari 7 Jarno Trulli 7 Heikki Kovalainen 7 Kamui Kobayashi 7 Timo Glock 7 Lucas di Grassi 7 Nico Hülkenberg 7 Bruno Senna 7 Mark Webber 7 Rubens Barrichello 7
Robert Kubica 6 Vitaly Petrov 6
Wins
This season has Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso winning four races, Lewis Hamilton, three races races, Sebastian Vettel winning two, and Jenson Button on one race.
This year the Red Bull's have won six races to McLaren's four and Ferrari's three.
Since 1950, Ferrari have won 212 races. McLaren have 166 wins and Williams 113.
Points
Lucas di Grassi- Virgin
Timo Glock- Virgin
Heikki Kovalainen- Lotus*
Jarno Trulli- Lotus
Bruno Senna
Karun Chandhok- HRT F1
Sakon Yamamoto- HRT F1
Are the only drivers yet to score a point this season.
Qualifying
Four drivers have shared pole this season with the Red Bull's dominating qualification and their drivers picking up 14 of the 16 pole positions.
Sebastian Vettel: 9 Bahrain, Australian, Chinese, European, British, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Korean.
Mark Webber: 5 Malaysian, Spanish, Monaco, Turkish, Belguim.
Fernando Alonso: 2 Italy, Singapore.
Lewis Hamilton: 1 Canadian.
As to converting them to race wins Mark Webber (Malaysian, Spanish), Fernando Alonso (Italy) (Singapore), Sebastian Vettel 2 (European), (Japanese) jointly lead with 2 and Lewis Hamilton 1 (Canadian).News
- Hamilton sure title still within reach
Lewis Hamilton reckons his Korean Grand Prix result proves that the world championship is still within reach, as he heads into the deciding two races 21 points behind new leader Fernando Alonso.- Lewis intent on taking fight to the wire
Lewis Hamilton says his main concern going into next week’s Brazilian Grand Prix is to make sure he scores enough points to ensure he will still have shot at the world title in the Abu Dhabi season finale.- Jenson not ready to support Lewis
Jenson Button says his declaration that his title bid was over was made in the 'heat of the moment', so he is not willing to play a supporting role to Lewis Hamilton just yet.- Horner rubbishes Webber crash claims
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has described as “ridiculous” claims that Mark Webber deployed underhand tactics by coming back across the track after hitting the wall in his Korean Grand Prix crash.- Webber 'relishing' final two races
Mark Webber says he is “relishing” the challenge of coming from behind in the points standings to win his maiden world title, after the disappointment of losing the championship lead in Korea.- RBR hopeful Vettel can avoid ninth V8
Red Bull chief Christian Horner admits Sebastian Vettel’s engine situation is a concern his team could do without for the decisive final two races – but is hopeful it can avoid having to use a ninth engine on the German’s car.- Reliability now key factor – Domenicali
Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali believes reliability, rather than the introduction of last-gasp car updates, is now the key factor that will decide the 2010 world title.- Domenicali: Ferrari must keep its cool
Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali has urged his squad not to get complacent despite Fernando Alonso taking the championship lead in Korea.- Alonso: Ferrari was due change of luck
Fernando Alonso says Ferrari deserved the dose of luck that has helped him assume the championship lead, as he feels his squad was overdue some good fortune following disappointments at the start of the season.- Massa: Ferrari must improve quali pace
Felipe Massa believes making a better fist of challenging Red Bull in qualifying over the final two rounds is key to Ferrari’s hopes of winning the world title.- Halting development 'made Merc faster'
Ross Brawn believes halting development of Mercedes' 2010 car has actually helped its pace in recent races - as the team has been able to perfect the developments it had hurried into action earlier in the year.- Schu 'very impressed' with Merc spirit
Michael Schumacher has praised his Mercedes team for persevering amid its disappointing season after an upturn in results in recent races, despite it having moved its development focus to 2011 as long ago as August.- Williams aim to beat Force India
Williams aim to take sixth place in the constructors’ championship off Force India in the final two races of 2010.- Kubica says Brazil 'difficult to predict'
Robert Kubica believes the unusual nature of the Interlagos circuit, plus the prospect of unpredictable conditions, make it “really difficult to predict” how his Renault team will perform in the Brazilian Grand Prix.- Petrov looking to bounce back in Brazil
Vitaly Petrov admits he is hoping for a better race weekend in Brazil having crashed out of the last two Grands Prix- Liuzzi: I'm back in business
Tonio Liuzzi has declared his sixth place in Korea a major turning points in his trouble season, and is confident he can carry that strong form on to the final two races.
Website: Brazilian GP website
Google view:
Interlagos Weather:
The Interlagosa Circuit
Technical Changes -Korean Grand PrixThe 4.309 km Interlagos track is 16 kilometres south of Sao Paulo’s city centre.
The anti-clockwise track provides the drivers and engineers with many challenges. At high altitude it can be tough on the engines. Spectator facilities at Interlagos are generally rather basic, some grandstand seats are not numbered and there are no general admission areas. The atmosphere on race day is fantastic however. The grave of the three-time champion, Aryton Senna is in Sao Paulo’s Morumbi cemetery, for those who wish to visit and pay their respects.
Released by the Circuit
The Interlagos Circuit (Whose official name is Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace) Is located in the neighbourhood of Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It was inaugurated on May 12, 1940 after just over a year of construction. Its total area amounts to 923,000 meters squared.
The traditional name of the circuit comes from the fact that it was built in a region between two artificial lakes, and Guarapiranga Billings, which were built in the early twentieth century to supply the city with water and electricity. In the early 70's it was renamed to honour the then recently deceased Formula 1 driver Jose Carlos Pace. Attached to its construction, there is a circuit, the Municipal Karting Ayrton Senna.
The circuit is one of the few racing circuits outside the United States to take counter-clockwise.
In this race track are the main competitions held Automobile Brazil. It is internationally known for hosting the stage of the Brazil Grand Prix Formula 1, and is currently the only one of Latin America in the championship calendar.
Flying Lap ; Accelerating up to a maximum speed of over 300km/h on the way to the first corner which is quite a tricky downhill left-hand 2nd gear corner which I take at about 95km/h. The circuit drops down sharply which makes braking very difficult for this turn. Straight after this it leads into a right-hand corner, I am still in 2nd gear but then I accelerate up into 3rd gear, it is almost flat but very difficult. There is then a long left-hand corner that leads on to the back straight where I go over 300km/h before braking very hard into the next left-hand corner.
This is a medium speed corner taken in 3rd gear at around 135km/h from here I accelerate along a short straight reaching 5th gear and a speed of about 280km/h before going into a very difficult fast right-hand 4th gear corner which has a double apex and is taken at about 180km/h. Next I have to brake into a very slow corner which is taken in 1st gear at under 80km/h, this is immediately followed by a slow left-hand corner, still taken in 1st gear at around 95km/h.
A very short straight then leads into the slowest corner of the circuit again back into 1st gear and this time right down to 70 km/h. I take the next left-hand corner almost flat in qualifying at around 200km/h in 4th gear with just a slight lifting of the throttle before braking hard again for what is probably the most important corner in the lap the final corner leading on to the straight which is taken in 2nd gear at just over 100 km/h. I have to get a clean exit from this corner is very important to start the uphill climb to the finish line to end the lap.
The Belgian Grand Prix 
Originally Posted by stuart08
