Autódromo José Carlos Pace

What is a lap of Autódromo José Carlos Pace like?

Interlagos is one of the few anticlockwise circuits on the calendar, loading the drivers' necks the opposite way to most tracks, and sits about 800 m above sea level. The lap starts with the downhill Senna S (Turns 1-2), a left-right sequence named after Ayrton Senna, which feeds the long left-hand Curva do Sol and the DRS run down to Descida do Lago; from the crest before Turn 1 the track falls all the way to Turn 5, the lowest point, 43 m below the highest. A twisty, bumpy infield of slower corners (Ferradura, Laranjinha, Pinheirinho, Bico de Pato, Mergulho) leads to Junção (Turn 12), whose exit is critical because it opens the long, flat-out uphill run of left-handers back to Turn 1. The original 7.960 km lap was shortened to about 4.3 km for Formula 1's return in 1990; the circuit had been renamed in 1985 after Brazilian driver José Carlos Pace.

Lap length

4.309 km

Turns

15

Direction

anticlockwise

Downforce

High

Longest straight

about 850 m

Elevation change

43 m

Altitude

800 m

DRS zones (to 2025)

2

Character

Balanced (about 46% of the lap is cornering)

Layout described

Grand Prix circuit, 4.309 km / 15 turns: the shortened layout first used when F1 returned in 1990, in its 4.309 km form since 1999, used for the most recent race (2025 São Paulo Grand Prix)

Map, character and grey values are approximate (measured from a GPS trace). Report a correction.

Does pole position win at Autódromo José Carlos Pace?

The pole sitter has won 19 of 42 races here (45%). Across all circuits since 1950 the pole sitter wins 44% of races. The winner started from the front row (P1 or P2) in 32 of 42 races (76%) and from the top three in 35 (83%). Lowest grid position to win: 17th, Max Verstappen in 2024.

Where the winner started, every race at this circuit. Pole sitter means the driver who set the fastest qualifying time (first on the grid where no qualifying data exists); a grid penalty can move the pole sitter back, and that race still counts for them. Compare every circuit.

How are races at Autódromo José Carlos Pace won?

Since 2010

15 races; winners made 1 stop in 3, 2 stops in 5, 3 or more in 7; first stop at a median lap 20 (28% of the race)

1994 to 2009 (refuelling)

15 races; winners made 1 stop in 5, 2 stops in 7, 3 or more in 3; first stop at a median lap 26 (36% of the race)

Lap times over the years

All races at Autódromo José Carlos Pace