A medium-to-high downforce venue, Interlagos is situated much lower than Mexico City in terms of altitude. But it’s still 800m above sea level and the altitude impacts aero performance and straight-line speed
As a consequence, the cars need lots of aero and mechanical grip through the track’s twisty mid-section, but the two long straights make downforce levels a compromise.
Mercedes engines powered the top two fastest cars in a straight line – Lewis Hamilton and Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin – but Ferrari’s sheer power isn’t far behind as Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc indicate.
Once again however, one will note the massive gap conceded by Red Bull, with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen lingering some 13 km/h behind the top runners.
Will Honda bridge the gap next year?