Tuesday, October 29, 2024

#F1 - 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix - Preview & Stat Sheet: Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team

 

Press Information
29 October 2024


 
F1: Race Preview
 
2024 São Paulo Grand Prix - Preview

 
The final leg of the triple-header takes place at Interlagos in São Paulo.
  • Toto Talks Brazil
  • Fact File: São Paulo Grand Prix
  • Stat Sheet: São Paulo Grand Prix

 
Toto Talks São Paulo
 
The past two races in Austin and Mexico City have not been our cleanest so we are aiming for a smoother weekend at Interlagos. Despite the challenges in the US and Mexico, we have furthered our learning with the W15. Given our position in the championship, we have been able to test things out with little penalty. Whilst we are still focused on maximising our result each and every weekend, that testing and learning will be valuable in setting us up strongly for 2025. We will continue that approach this weekend in Brazil.
 
Interlagos is a proper driver's circuit with plenty of undulation and a challenge mix of low, medium, and high-speed corners. Given that it is the penultimate Sprint format of the year, we will have to execute effectively from the first session to get the car in a good window. We know it will be difficult to challenge the Ferraris and the McLarens who have looked strong in recent races. We will still be working hard to do so though and will see where our relative performance is over the weekend.
 
 
Fact File: São Paulo Grand Prix
  • The Autódromo José Carlos Pace is the fourth-shortest track on the 2024 F1 calendar at just 4.309 km long, only behind Monaco, Zandvoort and Mexico.
  • The São Paulo Grand Prix venue is situated 800 metres above sea level, the second-highest altitude on the F1 calendar behind Mexico City (which sits at 2,300m above sea level).
  • Interlagos is a track of two extremes. The first and third sectors require a low-drag car for the long straights, but the middle sector is twisty, requiring high downforce. The second DRS zone means more focus is typically on higher downforce for the ultimate fastest lap, but a balance still needs to be found with being competitive on the straights during the race.
  • There is 1.2 kilometres of driving at full throttle between the exit of Turn 12 and the braking zone for Turn One, with an elevation change of 33 metres.
  • The biggest difference in elevation is from the start/finish straight to Turn 4 where there is a 40-metre drop in elevation.
  • The long straight before the lap begins also requires some clever deployment of energy from the ERS to maximise performance towards the end of the out lap, as the drivers start their flying lap.
  • Turn 1 is banked heavily towards the inside, unloading the front-left wheel and causing frequent lockups. However, because the tyre is unloaded, flat spots are less likely and time loss isn't as high as you'd expect, due to the steep banking and variety of corner lines drivers can take. The variety of lines is also what makes this corner well suited to overtaking.
  • The uphill grid requires the drivers to find the balance between holding the car on the brakes as gently as possible, without rolling backwards.
  • From Turn 10 to Turn 6 (around 3.5 km of distance) the left-hand front tyre does very little work and therefore cools down quickly, providing a tricky engineering challenge to keep the tyre in its temperature window.
  • With long straights and a second DRS zone, Interlagos is one of the best tracks of the season for overtaking. However, it can be difficult for the defending car to manage its battery, as there aren't many big braking zones to recover energy.
  • The São Paulo Grand Prix is the fifth F1 Sprint of the 2024 season, with just Qatar left on the Sprint calendar this season.
  • This will be the fourth consecutive year that the circuit has hosted a Sprint weekend.
  • Interlagos is a very flowing circuit with a lot of combined corner entries (where you are cornering and braking at the same time), meaning good stability is important. However, you also need a good front end for the low-speed middle sector.
  • Track temperatures can reach some of the hottest of the season in Brazil, up to 60°C. And thunderstorms are common around this time of year, which can potentially spice up the weekend.
  • Since 2021, the race around the circuit has been known as the São Paulo Grand Prix.
  • Valtteri Bottas won the inaugural F1 Sprint race at Interlagos in 2021. A year later, George Russell won his first F1 Sprint race at the venue.
  • A day later in 2022, George won his first F1 Grand Prix, leading home at W13 1-2 with Lewis behind.
  • Lewis has three wins at the circuit (2016, 2018 & 2021) and in 2022 the seven-time world champion was made an honorary citizen of Brazil in an official ceremony.
  • The team has six wins overall at Interlagos. In addition to the four from Lewis and George, Nico Rosberg also won in São Paulo (2014 & 2015).
Friday
Saturday
Sunday


 
 
Stat Sheet: São Paulo Grand Prix
 
2024 São Paulo Grand Prix
 
Session Local Time (BRT) Brackley (GMT) Stuttgart (CET)
Practice (Fri) 11:30 - 12:30 14:30 - 15:30 15:30 - 16:30
Sprint Qualifying (Fri) 15:30 - 16:14 18:30 - 19:14 19:30 - 20:14
Sprint Race (Sat) 11:00 - 12:00 14:00 - 15:00 15:00 - 16:00
GP Qualifying (Sat) 15:00 - 16:00 18:00 - 19:00 19:00 - 20:00
Grand Prix (Sun) 14:00 17:00 18:00

 
 
Race Records - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team in Brazil
 
  Starts Wins Podium Places Poles Front Row Fastest Laps DNF
Mercedes 13 6 12 6 12 5 2
Hamilton 16 3 7 3 7 4 2
Russell 4 1 1 0 0 1 1
MB Power 28 11 28 11 25 12 20

 
 
Technical Stats - Season to Date (Pre-season Testing to Present)
 
  Laps Completed Distance Covered (km) Corners Taken Gear Changes PETRONAS Fuel Injections
Mercedes 5,974 30,419.084 101,198 294,462 239,240,000
Hamilton 2,945 15,021.400 49,776 144,784 118,080,000
Russell 3,005 15,286.943 51,044 148,814 120,020,000
MB Power 22,731 115,670.422 382,763 1,118,619 906,480,000

 
 
Mercedes-Benz in Formula One
 
  Starts Wins Podium Places Poles Front Row Fastest Laps 1-2 Wins Front Row Lockouts
Mercedes (All Time) 313 128 296 139 262 109 59 84
Mercedes (Since 2010) 301 119 279 131 242 100 54 80
Hamilton 352 105 201 104 176 67 N/A N/A
Russell 124 2 14 3 11 8 N/A N/A
MB Power 583 221 612 230 467 219 94 123

 

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