An introduction to the Brazilian Grand Prix
Compared to other countries, Brazil has a relatively short history of involvement in the F1 World Championship calendar although the country has a long and illustrious history of motor racing. Brazil boasts many F1 World Champions such as Emerson Fittipaldi (1972 and 1974), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983 and 1987) and the legendary Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990 and 1991). They are known as the trio of Brazilian Champions. Bruno Senna, the nephew of Ayrton Senna, is another famous Brazilian currently driving for Williams. The Brazilian Grand Prix was born in the 1970s, when Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi exploded onto the international F1 racing scene and put Brazil on the F1 racing map.
The first Brazilian Grand Prix (Grande Prêmio do Brasil) was held in 1973 at Sao Paolo's Interlagos venue. This track was selected primarily due to the fact that it was in Fittipaldi's home city. The race was long, being just over eight kilometres (5 miles) in length and run in a challenging counter-clockwise fashion. Only four other races currently run counter-clockwise: Abu Dhabi, Korea, Singapore and the US. The track became known as a lucky circuit for local drivers, with Emerson Fittipaldi, Carlos Pace and Carlos Reutemann all winning Grand Prix races at Interlagos in the 1970s. However, since Ayrton Senna's death no Brazilian driver has scored points at Interlagos.
The Brazilian Grand Prix was held at the Interlagos track until 1981, when deteriorating circuit conditions forced it to be moved to Rio de Janiero’s Jacarepagua circuit, also known as Autodromo Nelson Piquet. It wasn't until 1990 that Interlagos was able to win back the right to host the Brazilian Grand Prix after modernising and upgrading its track. It also shortened the circuit to just over 4.3 kilometres (2.7 miles) and added a tricky S-shaped curve named after Ayrton Senna, a local hero. Since then Interlagos has continuously hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix and is currently the only South American country on the F1 World Championship calendar.
There have been many memorable Brazilian Grand Prix races, such as the 2003 race that provided a totally unexpected maiden victory for Italian Giancarlo Fisichella under extreme weather conditions. Veteran Alain Prost still holds the most wins in Brazil, with six, followed by Michael Schumacher, with four wins. The 2011, the Brazilian Grand Prix was won by Mark Webber.