The polesitter has won eight of the last 11 races at the Interlagos circuit, while Verstappen recorded the furthest back win to date at the track in 2024. Here’s everything you need to know about each grid slot’s history at the Brazilian Grand Prix!
SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX GRID STATS IN BRIEF
- Polesitter has won 8 of last 11 races
- Furthest back win from 17th
- 18th not scored since 2004
- Furthest back podium from 20th
SAO PAULO GRAND PRIX RESULTS: GRID OVERVIEW
| Grid | Last Win | Last Podium | Last Points | Last DNF | Best Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | 2023 | 2024 | 2012 | 1st |
| 2 | 2017 | 2022 | 2024 | 2023 (DNS) | 1st |
| 3 | 2007 | 2017 | 2024 | 2019 | 1st |
| 4 | - | 2024 | 2024 | 2019 | 2nd |
| 5 | 2001 | 2018 | 2024 | 2007 | 1st |
| 6 | 1990 | 2023 | 2024 | 2022 (DNS) | 1st |
| 7 | - | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2nd |
| 8 | 2003 | 2009 | 2024 | 2023 | 1st |
| 9 | - | 2001 | 2023 | 2014 | 2nd |
| 10 | 2021 | 2021 | 2021 | 2024 (DNS) | 1st |
| 11 | - | - | 2019 | 2022 | 4th |
| 12 | - | 1976 | 2021 | 2023 | 3rd |
| 13 | - | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 3rd |
| 14 | - | 2006 | 2024 | 2021 | 3rd |
| 15 | - | - | 2023 | 2003 | 4th |
| 16 | - | - | 2023 | 2024 | 4th |
| 17 | 2024 | 2024 | 2024 | 2019 | 1st |
| 18 | - | - | 2004 | 2023 | 6th |
| 19 | - | - | 2013 | 2003 | 6th |
| 20 | - | 2019 | 2019 | 2023 | 3rd |
- Won 8 of the last 11 races
- 17 of 41 races in total won from pole
- One DNF since 2004
In 2024, polesitter Lando Norris finished sixth in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix. It was the worst result for the polesitter at Interalgos since 2012, when Lewis Hamilton failed to finish after crashing out in a similarly wet race.
Norris’s sixth place was only the third time since Hamilton’s 2012 DNF that the polesitter did not win in Brazil. Since 2013, Valtteri Bottas is the only other polesitter at the Brazilian Grand Prix to have failed to go on and win the race. He did so twice, in 2017 and 2021.
17 of the 41 F1 races held so far at Interlagos have been won from pole, giving a pole to win conversion rate of less than 50%.
Since 2004, Hamilton’s retirement in 2012 is the only non-finish for a polesitter, and one of only four occasions on which the polesitter hasn’t finished on the podium during that 20 year period – the other times being 2009, 2010 and 2024.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM POLE POSITION AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
- 10 podiums in last 15 races
- 2019 was first DNF since 2001
- DNS in 2023
In 2019, Sebastian Vettel became the first driver to have started the Brazilian Grand Prix from second on the grid and retire since Ralf Schumacher in 2001. In every season between 2001 and 2019, second on the grid always scored points.
This driver starting second has finished on the podium in ten of the last 15 Interlagos races, including five wins and five runner-up spots. The driver starting second finished where they started in both 2021 and 2022 but Charles Leclerc failed to even start from this grid slot in 2023 after crashing out on the formation lap.
The driver starting here has scored points 34 times – that’s more than any other grid slot at Interlagos.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 2ND ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | DNF | 2 | 2 | DNS |
- One win in last 22 races
- No podium finishes since 2017
- One DNF in last 14 races
In the last 22 Interlagos races, the driver starting third has won only once. That victory, the third from this grid slot, was for Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 – securing him the World Championship by a single point.
There have been 16 podium finishes from third on the grid, but none since 2017. The driver starting here has retired only once in the last 14 races, with Raikkonen spinning out in the wet in 2016.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 3RD ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | DNF | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
- 2019 is only retirement since 2011
- Five podiums in last 11 races
- Only top six grid slot to never win
Since 2013, the driver starting fourth has recorded five podium finishes. That includes two in the last two seasons – third place for Fernando Alonso in 2023 and second for Esteban Ocon in 2024.
There have been 15 podium finishes from this grid slot in total, but it is the only grid slot in the top six which has never won at Interlagos.
In the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas recorded the first retirement from fourth on the grid since 2011.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 4TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | DNF | 4 | 7 | 3 |
- Scored in 15 of last 16 races
- Three podiums since 2010
Alex Albon’s 14th place finish in the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix is the only time in the last 16 Interlagos races that the driver starting fifth has failed to score at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Since 2010, fifth position has supplied three podium finishes – third places for Fernando Alonso in 2010 and Felipe Massa in 2012, as well as the runner-up slot for Max Verstappen in 2018.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 5TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 8 |
- Three of first eight races won from sixth
- Two podiums in last six races
- Also two DNFs in last six races
Three of the first eight Brazilian Grands Prix held as a round of the championship at Interlagos were won by the driver starting sixth on the grid.
The race has not been won from here since then, but has provided a further three podium finishes, in 2008 2019 and 2023; all three of them being second place finishes.
The driver starting sixth has retired from two of the last six races in Brazil.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 6TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | DNF | 2 | 5 | DNF | 2 |
- 2022 was first podium since 2011
- Points in 12 of last 15 races
- Only nine DNFs from here
In 2022, Carlos Sainz became the first driver to record a podium finish from seventh on the grid at Interlagos since Fernando Alonso in 2012.
Ihe last 15 Interlagos races, there have been only three occasions that the driver starting seventh has not scored points at the Brazilian Grand Prix. In both 2016 and 2019, it was Romain Grosjean who failed to score. He failed to start the race after crashing on his way to this grid slot in 2016 and finished only 13th in 2019.
In 2024, qualifying was run on Sunday morning. Alex Albon was due to line up seventh on the grid but a heavy crash in qualifying meant that his car could not be repaired in time for the start of the race.
Albon’s non-start was the ninth non-finish in total from this grid position.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 7TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 10 | 9 | 5 | DNS | 10 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 6 |
- Five podiums in total
- Won in 2003
- Retired in both 2022 and 2023
Both of the first Brazilian Grands Prix to be held at Interlagos resulted in second place finishes for the driver starting eighth on the grid. Since then there have been a further three podium finishes from this grid slot, including a win for Giancarlo Fisichella in 2003.
In 2022, Kevin Magnussen recorded the first retirement from eighth on the grid at Interlagos since 2006. George Russell also retired having started here in 2023, recording the grid slot’s first consecutive retirements at the track since 2001 and 2002.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 8TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 15 | 6 | DSQ | 7 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 8 | DNF | DNF |
- 2023 was first points since 2017
- Points in six of last 22 races
- Best result of second, in 1976
Sergio Perez’s fourth place finish in the 2023 Sao Paulo Grand Prix made him the first driver to score points having started ninth on the grid at Interlagos since 2017. It followed a run of three successive 11th place finishes for the driver starting here.
In the last 22 Interlagos races, the driver starting ninth has scored points only six times and has finished in the top ten eight times.
The best result from this grid slot is second, recorded by Patrick Depailler in 1976. Nick Heidfeld also finished on the podium from here in 2001, finishing third. From the top ten grid slots, this one has had far fewer points-scoring races than any other slot, with only ten.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 9TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 7 | DNF | 9 | 4 | 7 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 4 |
- Furthest back win, in 2021
- No points since win
- Three podiums in total
In 2021, Lewis Hamilton recorded what was then the furthest back win to date at Interlagos having started from tenth place. The driver scheduled to start tenth has scored in six of the last 11 Brazilian Grands Prix, and that includes 2015 when the slot was left vacant following a pit lane start for Carlos Sainz.
Three podium finishes have been recorded from third on the grid. Aside from Hamilton’s win, Jochen Mass and Alan Jones each finished third in 1975 and 1980 respectively.
Hamilton’s 2021 win remains the last time that the driver starting tenth at Interlagos scored a point. Lance Stroll was due to start tenth in 2024 but beached his car in the gravel on the formation lap.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 10TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 8 | 7 | – | 10 | DNF | 9 | 8 | 1 | 14 | 14 |
- 21 non-finishes in 41 races
- Highest DNF rate
- 2018 and 2019 are only points since 2011
11th on the grid has suffered 21 non-finishes in the 41 races held at Interlagos, giving it the highest DNF rate of any grid slot at the circuit.
The driver starting here retired in every race at the track between 1975 and 1991, and failed to finish six times consecutively between 2003 and 2008. Both the 2021 and 2022 Interlagos races resulted in retirements for the driver starting 11th.
Daniel Ricciardo’s fourth place in 2018 marked the first time the grid slot has scored points since 2011 and Ricciardo went on to finish sixth from this grid slot in 2019. That remains the last time that the driver starting 11th scored points.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 11TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 6 | DNF | DNF | 12 |
- Single podium, in 1976
- 2019 was fifth top five result
- Three DNFs in last eight races
After two years of consecutive Brazilian Grand Prix retirements in 2016 and 2017, the driver starting 12th went on to score in all of the next three Interlagos races.
Zhou Guanyu’s 12th place in 2022 ended that three-race scoring streak streak, while Kevin Magnussen was out on Lap 1 having started here in 2023.
Just one podium finish has come from this grid slot; a third place finish for Tom Pryce in 1976. Antonio Giovinazzi recorded the grid slot’s fifth top five finish in 2019.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 12TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 11 | 8 | 16 | DNF | DNF | 10 | 5 | 9 | 13 | DNF |
- Two podiums: in 1977 and 2024
- 2024 podium was first points since 2012
- DNFs in four of the last eight races
In 2024, Pierre Gasly finished the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in third place having started 13th on the grid. It marked this position’s second podium finish, after a third place result for Niki Lauda at the 1977 Brazilian Grand Prix almost 50 years previously and was the first time the driver starting here scored points since 2012.
In four of the last eight Interlagos race weekends, the driver starting 13th has failed to finish the event. Felipe Massa crashed out in the slippery conditions in 2016, Kevin Magnussen was eliminated in a first lap collision in 2017, Nico Hulkenberg retired with overheating issues in 2018 and Alex Albon was out on Lap 1 in 2023.
13th position on the grid has had 19 non-finishes in total – the second most of any grid slot.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 13TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 16 | 13 | DNF | DNF | DNF | 15 | 14 | 12 | DNF |
- Seven points finishes in last 12 races
- Points in last three years
The 14th grid slot is the only one from the second half of the grid at Interlagos which has supplied points finishes on more than ten occasions.
The grid slot has scored points in seven of the last 12 races here – including in all of the last three seasons.
Valtteri Bottas’ ninth place in 2022 marked the first time since 2018 that the driver starting 14th made it to the end of the race.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 14TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 4 | DNF | 8 | 13 | 6 | 16 | DNF | DNF | 9 | 10 |
- Five points finishes in last nine races
- No DNFs since 2003
- Best result of 4th, in 2009
Olivier Panis was the last driver to record a non-finish at Interlagos having started from 15th on the grid back in 2003.
Though the grid slot has only scored nine times in total, five of those occasions have been in the past nine races.
Pastor Maldonado finished tenth in 2015, Carlos Sainz finished sixth in 2016, Sergio Perez finished ninth in 2019, Lance Stroll finished tenth in 2022 and Pierre Gasly finished seventh in 2023. The best ever finish for this grid slot is fourth for Sebastian Vettel in 2009.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 15TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 13 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 7 |
- Points scored in three of last five races
- 13 top ten finishes in total
- Best result of 4th, in 1977
In 2019, Daniil Kvyat scored the first point from 16th on the grid at the Brazilian Grand Prix since 2011. The grid slot has now scored three times in the last five races at the venue, thanks to an eighth place finish for Esteban Ocon in 2022 and ninth for Yuki Tsunoda in 2023.
Tsunoda’s ninth place was only the fifth time that the grid slot has scored in total, as well as being the 13th top ten finish for a driver starting here. The best ever finish from this grid slot is fourth, for Emerson Fittipaldi in 1977.
Franco Colapinto’s DNF in the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix was the first recorded from this position since 2016.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 16TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 16 | 12 | 14 | DNF | 16 | 11 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 9 |
- Furthest back win from here, in 2024
- Five points scoring races
- 2019 is only retirement since 2007
In 2024, Max Verstappen set a new record for the furthest back victory at Interlagos, winning from 17th on the grid. His win marked only the fifth points-scoring race for the driver starting 17th in F1’s 41-race history at Interlagos.
Prior to Verstappen’s win, this position had one other podium appearance – a third place result for Lewis Hamilton in 2009. Between 2009 and 2024, the driver starting here scored twice. Jean-Eric Vergne came home eighth in 2012, while Fernando Alonso recorded a fifth place result from this position in 2022.
In 2019, Lance Stroll recorded the first retirement from this grid slot since 2007. It remains the only DNF from this position in the last 16 races at the track.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 17TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 12 | 11 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 17 | DNF | 13 | 5 | 13 |
- No top ten finishes since 2004
- DNF and DSQ in last two seasons
The driver starting from 18th on the grid has failed to pick up points or have a top ten finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix since Michael Schumacher finished seventh in 2004.
The grid slot hasn’t given a finishing position higher than 12th in any of the last 19 Interlagos races, and has retired from almost half of those races. The slot has suffered 18 non-finishes in total, while Nico Hulkenberg was black-flagged having started here in the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix after receiving assistance from marshals in re-joining the track.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 18TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| DNF | 15 | 17 | 14 | DNF | 14 | 12 | 18 | 16 | DNF |
- Only points finish in 2013
- Ten top ten finishes in total
- No retirements since 2003
Sergio Perez’s sixth place finish in 2013 is the only occasion that the driver starting 19th has ever scored points at Interlagos.
The driver starting here has finished in the top ten on ten occasions, but those other occasions were in the lower realms of the top ten, before those finishng positions awarded points.
There have been no retirements from this grid slot since 2003.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 19TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 6 | – | 11 | 15 | 12 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 11 |
- First points – and podium – in 2019
- Five top ten finishes in total
In 2019, Carlos Sainz became the first driver to have scored points from 20th on the grid at Interlagos. Sainz did so by finishing on the podium, beating the previous best finish of seventh for this grid slot, scored by Marc Surer back in 1980.
There have been only five top ten finishes from 20th on the grid at this circuit. Sainz’s was the first since Jenson Button finished tenth for Benetton in 2001.
Due to pit lane starts, this grid position has been left clear in five of the last ten races at the track.
LAST 10 RESULTS FROM 20TH ON THE GRID AT INTERLAGOS
| 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
| 18 | – | 15 | DNF | – | 15 | 3 | – | – | DNF |
There have been five pit lane starts at Interlagos. Carlos Sainz retired having started from the pit lane in both 2015 and 2024, Lewis Hamilton finished fourth having started from the pits in 2017, Kimi Raikkonen drove from the pit lane to 12th in 2021 and Yuki Tsunoda finished 17th having made a pit lane start in 2022.
