Toro Rosso drivers gear up for physical Interlagos

Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat are both well acquainted with Interlagos, the venue for this week's Brazilian Grand Prix, and expect once again to be physically challenged by the demanding 4.3km circuit.

Interlagos - or the Autodromo José Carlos Pace - has played host to Brazil's F1 event thirty-six times since 1973 and has been the scene of many epic showdowns or unexpected outcomes.

The 15-turn track is characterized by its anti-clockwise layout and many inclines, the combination of which puts an unhabitual strain on drivers, as Gasly explains.

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"The track itself is actually quite nice, even if it's short," explains the Frenchman.

"It features a lot of technically demanding corners and it can be quite a crazy weekend, as we have seen many times in the past because the weather can make life very unpredictable.

"That makes it especially exciting. The track runs anti-clockwise and although we all do a lot of training these days, it is one of the toughest circuits in terms of putting a strain on your neck because none of the straights are actually straight!

"You are always feeling G-forces and during the race it gets quite physical, especially in long corners like 3, 4 and 5 where it never stops turning."

Kvyat is a big fan of Brazil, but the Russian also has a special affinity for the country as he shares his life with Kelly Piquet, the daughter of F1 legend Nelson Piquet.

The Brazilian Grand Prix will therefore be a home race of sorts for the Toro Rosso charger who also underlines Interlagos's taxing features.

"It's a cool old-school track, but wide enough to allow for some overtaking," Kvyat says.

"There are some incredible corners such as the banked Turn 1 which is much steeper than it looks on television.

"Even with all the training we do, you feel the lateral forces on your neck here with the track running anti-clockwise. It's not a problem but it is challenging.

"The weather can also play its part and mix things up a bit and it can go either way, maybe providing an opportunity or just being an extra risk to deal with.

"At the last two rounds, I crossed the finish line in the top ten, but then lost the points on a technicality, so I am very keen to get a good result for myself and the team this weekend.

"It's crazy that we now have just two more races this year. The season has been a long one, but it's gone by very fast."

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