Brazilian Grand Prix 2014 Preview: Start Time, TV Times, Weather, Schedule, Odds
Formula One's depleted 18-car field will arrive in Sao Paulo this weekend for the 2014 Brazilian Grand Prix.
The missing teams, Caterham and Marussia, remain in administration; their futures are uncertain.
Lewis Hamilton's victory in the United States Grand Prix gave him a 24-point lead in the drivers' championship. With two races to go in any normal season, he'd be heading to South America knowing any points finish ahead of rival Nico Rosberg would be enough to secure the title.
But 2014, with the absurd awarding of double points for the final race, is not a normal season.
All Brazil can do is tip the balance further into Hamilton's favour, or perhaps return the edge to Rosberg. It's tough to pick a favourite, as neither driver has a good record at Interlagos—from 15 starts, they have just a single podium between them.
To add to the uncertainty, rain looks possible and the entire circuit has been treated to a brand new coat of tarmac.
Their paltry podium total will almost certainly be added to, but who'll come out on top?
Read on for a full preview of the race weekend including TV times, current standings, a circuit map and guide, tyre and DRS information, weather forecast, odds and session times.
Current Standings
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Lewis Hamilton has a 24-point lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg after his 10th win of the 2014 season.
Unfortunately for him, the ridiculous awarding of double points at the final race of the year means he can't win the title in Brazil.
Daniel Ricciardo is now officially out of the title hunt, while Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso are involved in a tight battle for fourth.
The current Top 10 are:
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 316 |
| 2 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 292 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 214 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 155 |
| 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 149 |
| 6 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 149 |
| 7 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 94 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 83 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 76 |
| 10 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 53 |
In the constructors' championship, the most significant tussle is between Ferrari, McLaren and Force India. However, it unlikely any of them can score enough points in the remaining races to make a difference.
Fun stat: Mercedes (608) have more points than all seven of the Renault and Ferrari-engined teams added together (601).
The current standings are:
| 1 | Mercedes | 608 |
| 2 | Red Bull | 363 |
| 3 | Williams | 238 |
| 4 | Ferrari | 196 |
| 5 | McLaren | 147 |
| 6 | Force India | 123 |
| 7 | Toro Rosso | 30 |
| 8 | Lotus | 10 |
| 9 | Marussia | 2 |
| 10 | Sauber | 0 |
| 11 | Caterham | 0 |
All data from Formula1.com.
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace
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The circuit, more commonly known as Interlagos, is named after Brazilian racing driver and Sao Paulo native (Jose) Carlos Pace.
His one and only F1 victory came at this track in 1975; two years later, he was killed in a plane crash just outside the city.
Once a much longer circuit, the modern incarnation first held the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1990 and has been ever-present on the calendar ever since.
But its age has started to show, and Autosport reported in August the circuit owners were being forced to spend $80 million to bring it up to modern standards. A new surface has been laid for 2014, with a new pit complex due to be built next season.
Hopefully its charm and beauty will remain intact. Home to several world-class corners, Interlagos' main attraction is its undulating nature, with numerous trips up and down hills making this a real rollercoaster of a circuit.
Turns 1, 2 and 3
A lap begins on the pit straight, heading uphill towards what is probably the best chicane in the world, the Senna S.
The track levels out and the drivers brake hard for Turn 1, a very tricky, downhill, medium-speed left. The downhill slope continues through the exit and into Turn 2, a medium-speed right.
The track levels out again at the apex, and the cars stream straight into the long, flat-out left-hander of Turn 3, exiting onto the back straight.
Simple enough in the dry, this becomes a treacherous corner in the wet.
Turns 4 and 5
Toward the end of the straight, the cars will be travelling at close to 300 kilometres an hour before braking for Turn 4 (Descida do Lago). A quite steep, downhill left-hander taken at medium speed, this is another of Interlagos' many great corners.
This is also a decent overtaking spot and should see some action during the race.
It leads out onto a downhill slope which levels out at Turn 5, a flat-out left-hand kink. Like Turn 3, this one becomes a far more fearsome corner in the wet.
A short straight follows.
Turns 6, 7, 8 and 9
The circuit heads uphill again and the drivers give the brakes a quick tap before turning into the medium-fast, double-apex right-hander of Turns 6 and 7.
Immediately after the exit, the track levels out and the cars slow to a crawl for Turn 8. This tight, downhill right-hander is one of the circuit's slowest corners, and all the drivers will take plenty of kerb on the inside.
They used to take too much, often throwing the whole car over the kerb. The track limits police will see that doesn't happen this weekend.
A quick squirt of the throttle later comes Turn 9 (Pinheirinho). Downhill on the entry, this deceptively long, slow corner begins to head uphill at its midpoint.
A very short, uphill straight follows.
Turns 10, 11 and 12
At the top of this latest hill, the drivers brake for the slow, tight right of Turn 10 (Bico de Pato). Every now and then you'll see someone trying to overtake here, but without a major speed difference between the defender and attacker any move is unlikely to pay off.
At the exit, the track drops downhill for a few seconds, then falls sharply away through the fast, downhill left of Turn 11 (Mergulho). Though not the most difficult corner Interlagos has to offer, this is arguably its most spectacular.
The cars exit into the base of a valley and head uphill yet again before braking for the medium-speed right of Turn 12 (Juncao). Trickier than it looks, a good exit from this corner is essential as it leads out onto the long, curving, undulating pit straight.
Turns 13, 14 and 15
This is perhaps the most famous "straight that isn't straight" in F1, and certainly the only one which contains three numbered corners.
It heads quite steeply uphill at the beginning, and this will play very much into the hands of the Mercedes-engined cars. Turn 13 is a flat-out uphill left, and the straight levels out at the similarly flat-out left of Turn 14.
Turn 15 is also a flat-out left, the inside line much lower than the outside. The track then heads uphill to the start-finish line and the end of one of the shortest and quickest laps of the year.
Pit Lane
The pit lane entry is on the inside of Turn 15, and the exit is on the back straight after Turn 3.
Tyres and DRS
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Interlagos has a new surface, so grip levels are unknown. However, new surfaces tend to be lower in grip than old ones.
The numerous quick corners and their constant nature tend to give the tyres a hard time and lead to high wear. However, this should be lessened on the new tarmac.
Pirelli had originally planned medium and hard compound tyres, in line with the selections used at the previous two Brazilian Grands Prix, but opted to change this after inspecting the new surface.
The tyre supplier is now bringing the yellow-marked soft and white-marked medium compounds.
This will please Felipe Massa, who, per Adam Cooper, launched a rather angry attack on the original choice.
DRS
There will be two DRS zones at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Per the FIA's circuit map, the first will have its detection point in the Senna S just before Turn 2. The activation point will be at the exit of Turn 3, and the zone will end with braking for Turn 4.
The second zone's detection point will be on the pit straight just after Turn 13. The activation point is between Turns 14 and 15, and the zone will end at the braking zone for Turn 1.
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Weather Forecast
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Sao Paulo has a humid subtropical climate, with warm temperatures all year round and high annual rainfall totals. There are distinct wet and wetter seasons, with most of the rain falling in the spring and summer.
November is mid-Spring in the southern hemisphere, and brings Sao Paulo an average of 11 rainy days. Normal daytime highs are in the mid-20s Celsius.
The current forecast suggests temperatures should be higher than average on Friday, average on Saturday and below average on Sunday. There's a chance of rain every day, and if it comes, it'll most likely be heavy.
BBC Weather will have the latest as we get closer to the weekend.
Odds
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As has been the case at every race in 2014, Lewis Hamilton is favourite for the race win. Nico Rosberg is second favourite with Valtteri Bottas third.
The favourite 10 drivers are:
| Lewis Hamilton | 4-6 |
| Nico Rosberg | 5-2 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 18-1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 21-1 |
| Felipe Massa | 28-1 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 28-1 |
| Fernando Alonso | 66-1 |
| Jenson Button | 125-1 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 125-1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 200-1 |
Selected Others
Rosberg took pole by nearly four-tenths of a second in Austin. It's 15-8 the gap is below 0.15 seconds in Brazil, 15-8 it's between 0.15 and 0.25 seconds, and 11-8 it's more than 0.25 seconds.
Adrian Sutil's strong qualifying display last time out didn't bring any points, perhaps due to Sergio Perez. He's 10-1 to score Sauber's first of the year in Sao Paulo, while team-mate Esteban Gutierrez is 16-1.
And the odds for any driver achieving a hat-trick—pole, fastest lap and race win—is 2-1. No hat-trick is 4-11.
All odds sourced from Oddschecker.com, and correct at the time of publication.
TV Times and Session Times
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As always, the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend will consist of three free practice sessions, qualifying and the race.
The session times are as follows:
| Practice One | Friday | 10 a.m. |
| Practice Two | Friday | 2 p.m. |
| Practice Three | Saturday | 11 a.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 2 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 2 p.m. |
All times given are Sao Paulo local time (BRST). Formula1.com has a handy one-click tool to convert them to your own time zone.
TV Times
In the United Kingdom, live coverage of all sessions will be provided by Sky Sports F1. Their programming times are as follows (all times GMT):
| Practice One | Friday | 12 p.m. | 11:45 a.m. |
| Practice Two | Friday | 4 p.m. | 3:45 p.m. |
| Practice Three | Saturday | 1 p.m. | 12:45 p.m. |
| Qualifying | Saturday | 4 p.m. | 3 p.m. |
| Race | Sunday | 4 p.m. | 2:30 p.m. |
The BBC will provide free-to-air highlights (times here).
In the United States, live coverage of selected sessions will be provided by the NBC Network. The main F1 schedule page appears to have an error for this weekend, showing what seems to be a race replay on NBC instead of the live coverage on CNBC.
Live coverage of second practice begins at 11 a.m. on Friday (NBCSN), with live qualifying coverage at 11 a.m. on Saturday (CNBC).
Live coverage of the race will be begin with the pre-show at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday (CNBC). The race starts at 11 a.m.
All NBC times given are Eastern Time.
Enjoy the weekend!
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