Liam Lawson is back in action with his Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team this weekend as he lines up on the grid for the São Paulo Grand Prix at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos, Brazil. It’s a GP with a lot of history and a highlight for drivers and teams, and the adoring F1 Brazilian fans.
Three Kiwi drivers have previously competed in the Brazilian Grand Prix (now known as the São Paulo Grand Prix ) since it was first held as a non-championship event in 1972 and from 1973 on, becoming a F1 champioonship event.
Denny Hulme was the first Kiwi to compete in the Brazilian Grand Prix back in 1973 driving a McLaren M19C where he finished third. A year later he finished 12th in a M23. It was the second GP for the season and Hulme had just won the Argentine Grand Prix, his last win in F1 before retiring at the end of the season.
Howard Ganley was also on the grid with Hulme finishing seventh in 1973 driving a Iso-Marlboro FX3B for Frank Williams Racing and then retiring out of the 74 GP, this time driving a March 741 for March Engineering.
Brendon Hartley drove for Toro Rosso in the 2017 and 2018 seasons, retiring out of the ’17 GP and finishing just outside of the points in 11th in 2018.
“Brazil is a track that’s got a lot of history and it’s one I’ve always wanted to drive for a long time, so I’m excited to do that for the first time,” commented Lawson. “It’s a sprint weekend, so we’ll be doing a lot of racing. It’s also the end of the triple header, so it’s going to be a tough weekend for sure.
“Last weekend wasn’t the weekend we wanted, but hopefully we can bring the pace we had in the car in Mexico and convert that into scoring points this weekend.”
“It’s an old school track much loved by the drivers, featuring a mix of high and low speed sweeping corners, wide kerbs to ride and plenty of elevation change,” said Alan Permane (Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team Racing Director). “The long start / finish straight will demand a lower downforce level than the past two races and there are overtaking opportunities into turns 1 and 4.
“This is another Sprint weekend and with only one hour of practice before Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon, the pressure is on the engineers to deliver a near perfect starting setup and then the drivers to maximise everything.
“A competitive car will need to be stable in braking, have a good front end for the long, low speed corners but then also good traction. High speed performance is essential for the very fast turn 4 and the turn 6 and 7 combination. The weather is often a factor at Interlagos and we could see some rain on Sunday.”
Brazilian drivers feature high on the winners list. Emerson Fittipaldi won twice in 1973 (Lotus-Ford) and 1974 (McLaren-Ford). Nelson Piquet also won twice, 1983 (Brabham-BMW) and 1986 (Williams-Honda). Ayrton Senna won in 1991 (McLaren-Honda) and 1993 (McLaren-Ford) while Felipe Massa won twice in a Ferrari in 2006 and 2008.
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