The Brazilian Grand Prix - did you know?
Did you know that Juan Pablo Montoya was the last man to take back-to-back wins at Interlagos? Or that Fernando Alonso has scored more podiums in Brazil than any other current driver, and yet has never tasted victory? We bring you the most intriguing facts, stats and trivia ahead of this weekend's Formula 1 Grande Premio Petrobras do Brasil 2015...
- The Brazilian Grand Prix has been a permanent fixture on the F1
calendar since 1973. Interlagos hosted the first five races, and every
race from 1990 onwards. Another track was used in 1978 and throughout
the 1980s, however - the five-kilometre Jacarepaqua circuit located in
Rio de Janeiro.
- The country experienced home success from the off, with Emerson
Fittipaldi winning the first two editions before Jose Carlos Pace scored
his sole F1 victory for Brabham in 1975. The circuit was renamed in
Pace's honour following his death in 1977.
- Pace was the second Brazilian to prevail in F1 racing, following in
the footsteps of Fittipaldi, whose own breakthrough came in the 1970
United States Grand Prix. Since then, four other Brazilians have stood
on the top step of a Grand Prix podium: Nelson Piquet, Ayrton Senna,
Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa. In total, those six drivers have
given Brazil 101 victories - a count only bettered by the United Kingdom
(248 wins) and Germany (157).
- Impressively, five of those six have all won at home - the exception
being Rubens Barrichello. In 19 races at his home venue, the Brazilian
was on pole three times, but on Sundays he recorded 11 DNFs - eight
straight between 1995 and 2003 - and only one podium, when he finished
third in 2004...
- ...a race that was won by Juan Pablo Montoya (pictured with Barrichello in the main image above), who also set the fastest lap of the race - a 1m 11.473s, which remains the outright lap record.
- Of the current field, only Massa (2006 and 2008) and Sebastian
Vettel (2010 and 2013) have won more than once in Brazil. Kimi Raikkonen
(2007), Jenson Button (2012) and Nico Rosberg (2014) all have one win
to their names.
- That, of course, means that both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso
are still chasing their first victories at Interlagos. Hamilton has been
on the podium only twice, finishing third in 2009 and runner-up last
year. Alonso, meanwhile, has eight podiums - second only to Michael
Schumacher on 10 - without managing to break through.
- In terms of manufacturers, Ferrari and McLaren are locked on eight
wins apiece at Interlagos. The two teams also have 23 podiums each - but
McLaren just have the edge in qualifying, having taken nine pole
positions to Ferrari's eight.
- Pole doesn't always equate to victory at Interlagos, however. From
32 races, the polesitter has triumphed just 11 times, a ratio of 34
percent - one of the lowest of any circuit on the current calendar. The
last two years have bucked the trend slightly, with Vettel and then Nico
Rosberg achieving the feat in 2013 and '14 respectively.
- Speaking of Rosberg, the German enters the weekend chasing a fifth straight pole - which would be his best run in the sport, and also the joint fourth best in history. Of the current grid, only Hamilton (7), Alonso (5) and Vettel (5) can boast a longer run of consecutive poles.
- Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen, meanwhile, is the on-form driver in
terms of points finishes. The teenage sensation has finished inside the
top ten in the five races prior to Brazil, a record no other driver can
match. Verstappen is still a long way short of the all-time record for
consecutive races in the points, however: that belongs to Kimi
Raikkonen, on a staggering 27.
- Raikkonen can boast another unusual stat at Interlagos - in the last
decade, he and Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel are the only two
drivers to have triumphed at the circuit in the same year they won the
world championship. Raikkonen managed it during his first spell with the
Scuderia in 2007, while Vettel was triumphant in both 2010 and 2013, on
both occasions with Red Bull.
- That 2013 triumph also meant Vettel was crowned champion on
Brazilian soil. It's a surprisingly common occurrence - in fact all five
of the world champions on this year's grid - Alonso, Raikkonen,
Hamilton, Button and Vettel - have clinched a title in Brazil.
- Burrowing owls are a common sight at Interlagos. The miniature birds
are unique in that they've developed longer legs than other owls, which
enable them to sprint as well as fly - handy when trying to keep out of
the way of errant F1 cars!
- On an unrelated animal front, did you know that in 1958 a rhino was a candidate in Sao Paulo's city council elections? 'Cacareco', as the rhino was named, won by a landslide, although the ballot was hastily recast. To this day, 'voto cacareco' remains a term for a protest vote.
Brazilian Grand Prix is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Socorro district, São Paulo. It is one of most challenging f1 races in the world; it is a full time entertainment for formula 1 lovers. Watch F1 Brazil Grand Prix 2015 Live
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