Circuits
Round 20 · São Paulo Grand Prix
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Autódromo José Carlos PaceSão Paulo, Brazil
4.309 km
Lap length
15
Corners
10 left, 5 right
Anticlockwise
Direction
42
F1 races held
since 1973
What makes it different
- One of only a handful of anticlockwise rounds, which loads the drivers’ necks the opposite way to most of the season.
- Sits about 800 m above sea level, enough thin air to cost measurable power without the extremes of Mexico City.
- The lap is short and the final sector is uphill and flat out, so a car within a second at the line has a real run at the leader - part of why it produces so many late passes.
- The circuit opened in 1940 as a dirt track, but Formula 1 did not hold a championship race there until 1973, when home favourite Emerson Fittipaldi won.
Home race
Home race for Gabriel Bortoleto.
The records
Michael Schumacher · 4 wins
Most wins
2002, 2000, 1995, 1994
26
Different winners
from 42 races
38
Oldest winner
Nigel Mansell, 1992
18% — roughly 1 car in 6
Cars that don't finish
last 9 races here, since 2016
3.4 places
How much the order changes
up or down from the grid slot, on average — more than most circuits
"Cars that don't finish" and "How much the order changes" both cover the 9 Grands Prix run here since 2016. Movement is the distance between a car’s grid slot and its finish, in either direction — not a count of overtakes, since a car retiring ahead of a driver moves that driver up too.
This grid’s history here
| Driver | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 3 wins · 2021, 2018, 2016 | 3 podiums · 2021, 2018, 2016 | 4 poles · 2021, 2018, 2016, 2012 |
| Max Verstappen | 3 wins · 2024, 2023, 2019 | 3 podiums · 2024, 2023, 2019 | 2 poles · 2023, 2019 |
| Lando Norris | 1 win · 2025 | 1 podium · 2025 | 2 poles · 2025, 2024 |
| George Russell | 1 win · 2022 | 1 podium · 2022 | — |
| Valtteri Bottas | — | — | 1 pole · 2017 |
| Nico Hülkenberg | — | — | 1 pole · 2010 |
| Fernando Alonso | — | — | 1 pole · 2005 |
Recent form at this circuit
Last winners
- 2025Lando Norris · McLaren
- 2024Max Verstappen · Red Bull
- 2023Max Verstappen · Red Bull
- 2022George Russell · Mercedes
- 2021Lewis Hamilton · Mercedes
Last pole times
- 2025Lando Norris · McLaren · 1:09.511
- 2024Lando Norris · McLaren · 1:23.405
- 2023Max Verstappen · Red Bull · 1:10.727
- 2022Kevin Magnussen · Haas F1 Team · 1:11.674
- 2021Lewis Hamilton · Mercedes · 1:07.934
Historic moments
2024 · Verstappen wins from 17th in the rain
Saturday's qualifying was washed out and rerun on Sunday morning, where five red flags left Max Verstappen 17th on the grid with an engine penalty on top. He picked his way through the field in standing water to win going away - the first winner from 17th or lower since Räikkönen at Suzuka in 2005 - and all but sealed a fourth straight title.
2012 · Vettel's title-clinching recovery drive
Sebastian Vettel spun to the back of the field on the opening lap of the rain-soaked 2012 season finale after contact at Turn 4, then fought back through the field to finish sixth. It was enough to beat Fernando Alonso to the championship by three points, in what is often called F1's last great old-school title decider.
2008 · Hamilton's last-corner title
Lewis Hamilton passed Timo Glock at the final corner of the final lap in the rain to snatch fifth place and the 2008 title by a single point, becoming Formula 1's youngest-ever World Champion at 23.
