Brazil’s carnival-esque atmosphere makes the São Paulo Grand Prix one of the most vibrant stops on the calendar, rivalled only by Mexico City.

It is also one of F1’s most historic and iconic venues, packed full of history, much of it made by McLaren. From home heroes Emerson Fittipaldi and Ayrton Senna's famous wins in 1974 and 1991, respectively, to Lewis Hamilton’s dramatic title-decider in 2008, races in São Paulo are never short of action.

As always, we’ve spoken with Lando, Oscar and Team Principal Andrea Stella to preview this weekend’s race. We’ve also got a guide to the circuit, some tips on what to wear and another F1 icebreaker to impress your friends with.

“It’s great to be going into the weekend following a P2 finish in Mexico. It’s been a busy couple of weeks for us all with back-to-back races, so it's nice to get a strong result in at the halfway point before we head to Brazil.

“The São Paulo Grand Prix is another fun weekend. The fans always make us feel welcome and it’s a nice city to come to. It’s another Sprint weekend so there are more points on the table. Let’s go!”

“I’m excited to return to Brazil this weekend. It’s an iconic track and a Sprint weekend, which gives us more opportunity for points. We finished in the points here last year, so we’ll aim for a podium this year.

“We've reviewed the Mexico weekend and now shift our focus to what we can do in São Paulo. I’m ready for the challenge."

“We now head to Brazil for the penultimate Sprint weekend of the 2024 season. Mexico was a challenging weekend, but one with many positives including another successful upgrade package, great team resilience and a well-executed race. We take all these positives with us to Brazil and they motivate us to keep pushing in these critical last few races.

“Just as we anticipated, the Championship fight is incredibly close and our competitors continue to keep developing and making their own steps forward. However, we remain focused on the job at hand and keep our heads down to deliver a fast car for the drivers and more points for the team.”

Track insights

When compared to last weekend’s venue in Mexico City, the Autódromo José Carlos Pace is practically at sea level, but it’s actually one of the higher points of the calendar, coming in at 800m above sea level. Whilst not as extreme as Mexico City, the higher altitude and thinner air still impacts aerodynamics and cooling in the same way, just to a lesser degree.

The Autódromo José Carlos Pace is one of F1’s shorter circuits, at 4.309km, and roughly 68% of it is taken at full throttle, making for an intense and exhilarating lap. This includes one of the most iconic sections of track on the calendar. The run from the start line and through the first three corners, know as the Senna S turns, is a key overtaking spot that is always packed with action. These three turns feature within a 43m elevation change between the highest point on the track at Turn 1 and the lowest point at Turn 5.

Drivers must also contend with several banked corners – most notably the final turn, and wide, flat kerbs, all of which present their own unique challenges. If that wasn’t already enough, the weather in São Paulo is known to be wholly unpredictable.

The season so far

Lando clinched our first podium in Mexico since Ayrton Senna in 1991 last time out, passing Championship rival Charles Leclerc in the closing stages of the race to finish second.

Meanwhile, Oscar completed an entertaining recovery drive from P17 to eighth, pulling off several impressive overtakes and picking up key points in our title hunt. With four races remaining we are first in the Constructors’ Championship with 566 points and a 29-point advantage over second.  

F1 translations: Flying lap, warm-up lap and cool-down lap

F1 is full of specialist slang and complicated jargon that can stump even the most avid of fans, which is why we’ll be explaining common F1 terminology ahead of each grand prix this season. This week, it’s three primary types of lap: a flying lap, a warm-up lap and a cool-down lap.

Also known as a ‘hot lap’ and a ‘timed lap’, a flying lap is when a driver completes a full tour of the circuit as quickly as possible in an attempt to set a fast time. Depending on the session, this can be done for different reasons.

In Free Practice, it is to test how fast the car can complete a lap in order to ensure the team are using the optimum set up. In Qualifying, it is to set the quickest lap in the race for Pole position. And in the Grand Prix, it is used to try and take the Fastest Lap, which grants a driver an additional point, providing they are in the top 10 finishers. While on a flying lap, drivers will want as clear a track as possible so that they’re not hampered and slowed down by traffic.

A warm-up lap is the one immediately before a flying lap. This is used to warm up the car’s tyres, brakes and engine, and to ensure that everything is working correctly.

Finally, a cool-down lap proceeds a flying lap. This is a critical part of car management, as it is used to cool down the tyres, brakes, and engine in order to prevent them from overheating and suffering damage.

F1 icebreaker

Stuck for conversation with your F1-loving friends? Spark up a discussion with our F1 icebreaker…

Lewis Hamilton famously secured his first F1 World Championship with McLaren in a dramatic 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, overtaking Timo Glock in the final corners of the last lap to become the then-youngest F1 World Champion in history.

The fit: Grab yourselves a great deal

Rather than recommending one single item for this weekend’s Grand Prix, we’d suggest getting your hands on a few and making the most of our end of season sale, with up to 50% off (plus an extra 10% off for McLaren Plus members). With New Era caps and beanies, hoodies, T-Shirts, and K-Swiss trainers all in the sale, you can give your wardrobe a refresh just in time for winter.