The 2021 São Paulo Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Heineken Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2021) was a Formula One motor race, held on 14 November 2021 at the

Interlagos Circuit The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Autódromo de Interlagos or simply Interlagos, is a motorsport race track, circuit located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It was inaugurated on 12 May 1940, by the federal intervener of the S ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, Brazil. The race was the 19th round of the

2021 Formula One World Championship The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a List of motorsport championships, motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internat ...

. The event marked the 49th edition of the Grand Prix and the first time the event was known as the São Paulo Grand Prix, with previous editions being known as the

Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix (), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix (), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Interlagos neighborhood, Cidade Dutra, São Paulo. The in ...

. After being disqualified from Friday qualifying due to an inconformity with his

drag reduction system In motor racing, the drag reduction system (DRS) is a form of driver-adjustable bodywork aimed at reducing aerodynamic drag in order to increase top speed and promote overtaking. It is an adjustable rear wing of the car, which moves in response ...

(DRS),

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...

started twentieth for the sprint race, recovering to fifth. After taking a further five-place grid penalty for the main race for exceeding the quota of

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

s allocated to him, Hamilton caught up to, and ultimately passed, a leading

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...

. Sprint polesitter

Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver, who serves as a reserve driver in Formula One for Mercedes. Bottas competed in Formula One from to , and twice finished runner-up in the World Drivers' Championship in ...

finished in third, which alongside Hamilton's victory, further extended Mercedes's advantage over

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...

in the fight for the Constructors' Championship; Verstappen would remain ahead of Hamilton in the Drivers' Championship standings.

Background

The race marked its debut in the Formula One Championship calendar under the name São Paulo Grand Prix, with previous editions being known as the

. In November 2020, a deal was signed which would see Formula One continue to race at Interlagos until 2025, albeit under the title of São Paulo Grand Prix. The governing body, the FIA lifted the curfew on that limits overnight working after weather conditions meant the equipment arrived late to the venue. This is the 38th time that Interlagos has been visited by the championship. The race was originally to take place on this date, but it was firstly rescheduled to 7 November due to the postponement of the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual Formula One motor racing event, taking place in Melbourne, Victoria. The event is contracted to be held at least until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Gran ...

; then it was rescheduled again to its original date due to the reduction of the overall number of Grands Prix in the calendar, from 23 to 22.

Championship standings

Heading into the race

led the World Drivers' Standings with 312.5 points, 19 points ahead of second-placed

was in third on 185 points, too far behind Verstappen to be able to win the title, but 20 points ahead of

Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990) is a Mexican racing driver, who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Pérez was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Red Bull, and won Gr ...

in fourth with

Lando Norris Lando Norris (; born 13 November 1999) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Norris was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with McLaren, and has won Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix ...

fifth on 150 points. In the World Constructors' Standings, Mercedes led with 478.5 points, one point ahead of second-placed

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

were third with 268.5 points ahead of

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

on 255.

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

and AlphaTauri were fifth and sixth with 106 points each, with Alpine being ahead courtesy of a win, compared to no wins for AlphaTauri.

Entrants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in drivers for the race or practice.

Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...

achieved his 350th Grand Prix entry in this race and became the first F1 driver to reach that milestone.

Tyre choices

Sole tyre supplier Pirelli allocated the C2, C3, and C4 compounds of tyre to be used during this Grand Prix weekend.

Practice

The weekend saw two practice sessions, each lasting one hour. The first took place on 12 November at 12:30 local time ( UTC-3) and the second took place at 12:00 on 13 November.

Qualifying

Qualifying took place at 16:00 on 12 November, with the results determining the starting order for sprint qualifying.

Post-qualifying

After the qualifying session, Hamilton was referred to the stewards for an alleged technical infringement. The technical delegate's report stated that Hamilton's

's opening slot was larger than the permitted . The rear wing assembly of Hamilton's car was removed and impounded pending investigations. He was later disqualified from qualifying, forcing him to start at the back of the grid for the sprint qualifying. Verstappen was referred to the stewards for an alleged violation of article 2.5.1 of the FIA International Sporting Code, after he appeared to have touched Hamilton's car during ''

parc fermé ''Parc fermé'', literally meaning "closed park" in French, is a secure area at a motor racing circuit where the cars are kept at some times during a race meeting in order to prevent modifications. Area According to the FIA Formula One regulati ...

''. Verstappen received a €50,000 fine.

Qualifying classification

Notes * –

qualified first, but was disqualified because his DRS was found not to be in conformity with the rules. He was allowed to race in the sprint qualifying at the stewards' discretion.

Sprint qualifying

Sprint qualifying took place on 13 November at 16:30 and was contested over 24 laps, with the results determining the starting order for the race.

Sprint qualifying classification

Notes * –

received a five-place grid penalty for exceeding his quota of internal combustion engines (ICE). * –

qualified 18th, but was required to start the race from the pit lane due to a rear wing assembly change under parc fermé conditions.

Race

The race was won by Hamilton, with Verstappen and Bottas completing the podium, and Pérez setting the fastest lap.

Race classification

Notes * – Includes one point for fastest lap.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. * Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Notes

References

External links

{{F1GP 2020–29 Sao Paulo

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Sao Paulo Grand Prix