Grand Prix 4 Formula 1 Championship
Grand Prix 4 Championship Time's History
FORMULA 1 Grande Premio do Brasil 2006
After a few weeks in Australia and Malaysia, the teams head over to the other side of the world for the Brazilian Grand Prix. This is a tough schedule for the personnel of F1 and the jet-lag is going to hit hard at some point along the way!
When the teams finally arrive at the Interlagos track in Sao Paulo they face a steep climb up to the paddock before work can begin! The circuit is built in a very hilly area so, as well as some steep gradients on the track itself, there are some hills to climb for the crew too!
Unique to Brazil is the fact that nearly everyone stays in the same hotel. In the evenings there is a lot of fun to be had in the hotel's bar and restaurants or you can choose to venture out to one of Brazil's famous meat restaurants, the 'Churrascarias'. An experience not to be missed - unless of course you're a vegetarian!
The journey to the circuit every morning can be painful as the roads in Sao Paulo are notoriously bumpy. The circuit is bumpy too and, as the drivers go around with their bottoms just centimetres from the floor, it must bring tears to their eyes. The Interlagos track runs in an anti-clockwise direction which puts extra strain on the driver's muscles as every other track (bar-Imola) runs the opposite way. Put all this together with the heat and you can see why the drivers look so exhausted after the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Understeer is always a problem at Interlagos as the circuit is made up of lots of fast corners and a long straight but set-up is a real compromise as it also has to take into account the slow corners in the infield section. Another factor the engineers have to look out for is the weather which can change from blue, sunny skies to thunderstorms in a matter of minutes!
A large crowd always turns out at the race, held in the home city of past Champions, Ayrton Senna and Emerson Fittipaldi. The Brazilian fans now shout for their new hero, Rubens Barrichello or Rubinho!