Just a few days until the penultimate race of the longest Formula 1 championship, with no less than 22 events this year. Next up is the Brazilian Grand Prix, which takes place at Interlagos and this time it is officially known as the São Paulo Grand Prix.
Formula 1 has raced at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, more commonly referred to as Interlagos, 38 times. It is also one of the most unusual circuits on the Formula 1 calendar, located in a natural bowl, between two artificial lakes (Interlagos in fact means “between lakes” in Portuguese.)
Scuderia Ferrari Racing Director, Laurent Mekies, previews the Brazilian Grand Prix by pointing out the key characteristics of the Interlagos circuit, the main challenges posed by the Sprint race format, while also talking about his passion for motorsport and how he arrived at the Maranello team:
Can you tell us about your passion for motorsport? Where did it start? How did you get to Ferrari and what is your best memory so far from your time in red?
Laurent Mekies: “It all started, as is the case for most kids around the world, by being attracted and passionate about cars since a very early age, then being lucky enough to turn this passion into a job a few years later. Fortunately there are some great opportunities to start in the grassroots categories of motorsport after university, to then climb the ladder to eventually reach Formula 1. After a long stint at Scuderia Toro Rosso and another one at the FIA, I was (again) lucky to cross Mattia’s path at a time when he was always looking to strengthening the team and that’s how I got the opportunity to join Ferrari. The best memory? Monza 2019 of course, as winning in front of our tifosi is something incomparable!”.
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Can you describe the characteristics of the Interlagos track? What it normally takes to go fast on this circuit?
Laurent Mekies: “It is one of well established venues on the calendar. It has plenty of character with a superb mix of middle speed corners and a seriously long uphill straight line at the end of the lap. So it’s a tough one for setup choices, downforce levels and so on. It’s also a track where we have often had to deal with heavy rain in the past which makes for very unpredictable racing”.
Laurent Mekies: This weekend we have the Sprint format for the third and last time in the season: what skills are highlighted both for the team and the drivers by this format?
“With the Sprint format you go straight into qualifying after only one hour of practice and that’s it. You cannot change the setup of the cars from that point onwards. So it puts some serious emphasis on the quality of your preparation work back at home, in terms of simulation and in the simulator with our drivers. It also puts all drivers to the test, having to nail a qualifying lap after so little time to adapt. From that point onwards, it is a little bit like a 400km race, interrupted by a red flag after the first 100km (the Sprint)”.
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