Pirelli previews Brazilian Grand Prix closer

Pirelli ends its first season in Formula One for 20 years at Interlagos this weekend, with 71 anticlockwise laps, an uphill start-finish straight that increases the risk of the anti-stall mechanism kicking in at the start and varying elevation in Brazil. Here are some of the key points of the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace from a tyre point of view, as seen by Pirelli.

The start-finish straight is the highest part of a circuit, Pirelli’s preview explains, leading quickly downhill into the Senna Esses: a complex of corners where the stability of the car is vital, providing a good overtaking opportunity. Under full acceleration at 250kph the drivers tackle the Curva do Sol, which generates a sideways acceleration of 4G. This places a heavy demand on the tyre structure and compound throughout the corner.
 
On the Reto Opposta straight the top speed is 310kph, on a bumpy surface that tends to destabilise the cars. The structure of the tyre absorbs the bumps in the track and neutralises the vertical movement of the chassis, meaning that the car is perfectly planted to the ground for the braking area and the following corner.
 
After the straight there is a complex of slower corners taken in second and third gear, where the drivers use the kerbs. Here there is little downforce and traction is crucial, meaning that the tyres have to generate the entire grip required to take the car through this complicated series of bends.
 
Afterwards the track climbs back uphill towards the start finish straight in a series of increasingly fast left-hand corners, putting plenty of energy through the tyres. The final corner is crucial to get the correct drive onto the start-finish straight, by getting on the power as early as possible. Again, it’s down to the tyres to translate the torque from the engine into effective grip as soon as possible. The track is less bumpy than it used to be since being resurfaced in 2005.
 
Pit stop strategy will be helped by the short time that it takes to make a stop: less than 20 seconds from start to finish.