Interlagos Speed Trap: Who is the fastest of them all?

Sao Paulo's Autódromo José Carlos Pace is set at a lower altitude than Mexico City but the venue is still located at 800m above sea level which slightly impacts aero performance.

Interlagos is a track of two extremes, with the first and third sectors requiring a low-drag car for the long straights, while its twisty middle sector favors high downforce.

That mix is playing into the hands of McLaren this weekend – a state of affairs predicted by team boss Andrea Stella – with the MCL39’s aero efficiency on full display.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri topped the speed trap readings in qualifying, although the spread was tight from top to bottom. McLaren’s chargers were strong through every sector of the 4.309km track, while Mercedes struggled in S2 but performed well in S3.

Ferrari opted for less rear wing on its SF-25 after Saturday’s Sprint, which instilled a liveliness that the always skillful Charles Leclerc mastered well.

Conditions in qualifying also undeniably played their part, with gusty winds affecting car behaviour and wreaking havoc on “driver feeling.”

• Read also: F1’s two-pitstop plan hits a wall with team bosses – and Pirelli

Moving on to our strategy corner, margins are tight between one and two stops at Interlagos. That means pit wall decisions, tyre management, and track position will again be decisive factors around the tight, undulating São Paulo circuit.

The most straightforward route to the flag is expected to be a one-stop strategy using the soft (C4) and medium (C3) compounds. Pirelli believes this pairing offers the best compromise between outright grip and durability, though the margins are slim.

Starting on the softs should provide a crucial launch advantage off the line – particularly important with the long uphill drag to Turn 1 – but the red-walled C4 will need careful rear-tyre management.

According to Pirelli, degradation on the rears has been significant this weekend, especially affecting traction out of the slow middle-sector corners.

At Interlagos, though, strategy rarely runs to script – and with the threat of changeable weather, gusty winds, and the ever-present possibility of a safety car shaking up the order, the São Paulo Grand Prix could yet turn into a tactical thriller where fortune favours the bold.

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