The other passion of a people ready to cheer wildly on the circuit of Interlagos, at the gates of São Paulo.
Alongside the unmistakable football, Formula 1 has always held a special place in the hearts of Brazilian fans. The great champions of the past have certainly not been replaced, but the fervor remains intact in the stands of Interlagos on the weekend of the Grand Prix. Retracing the history of this circuit is retracing the history of a high place in the sports of Brazil.
By Pierre Ménard
The Interlagos circuit, a unique stage of the F1 world championship
Brazil has long been an ideal place for motor sports, and the circuit of Interlagos, at the gates of Saõ Paulo, is its temple, just like that of Monza in Italy. Its construction goes back to the end of the thirties, however it was only in the seventies that things got serious and the fever surrounding this sport rose by several degrees!
Interlagos, the F1 circuit born of the infatuation of a nation behind a driver
The arrival of the young Emerson Fittipaldi in Formula 1 would bring the Brazilian motorsport authorities to organize the first official Grand Prix of Brazil on this track in 1973. The victories of “Emmo” in the furnace of his hometown became popular celebrations of the new king of Brazilian sport. The festive atmosphere of the batucadas imported from the football stadiums forever mark the unique brand of the Grand Prix in Brazil.
Interlagos was replaced in the eighties by the circuit of Rio-Jacarepagua, more modern, but less festive. The Rio transplant did not really succeed despite the presence on the grid of the new champion Nelson Piquet – a “carioca.” To the delight of the fans, the Grand Prix resumed its quarters on the “Paulista” circuit renovated and transformed in the early nineties.
The festive atmosphere there found its energy of yesteryear, and it became downright hysterical when the child of the country, the eternal Ayrton Senna, triumphed there twice.
Interlagos 2016, a symbolic edition marking the end of an F1 cycle in Brazil
Since the cruel death of Senna in 1994, the heroes of Brazilian motorsport have not been replaced. Attending a race at Interlagos is still a unique experience as the fervor and involvement of the overheated public are exceptional. On November 13, 2016, this expectation was surely met: the last representative of “auriverde” in Formula 1, Felipe Massa, raced his last Brazilian Grand Prix, before retiring at the end of the year, leaving the 2017 grid empty of any leading Brazilian representative. A first since 1970!
After an epic race won by Lewis Hamilton, in the pouring rain, share some of the experience of these flying aces with a selection of breathtaking videos of the cameras on board the cars!
http://fr.motorsport.com/f1/news/video-revivez-le-grand-prix-du-bresil-par-les-cameras-embarquees-852620/
