What F1 teams do well at Sao Paulo Grand Prix with McLaren and Ferrari successful in Brazil

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Formula 1 has visited Sao Paulo since the maiden running of the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1973 and has seen a raft of teams win, so who are the most successful crews to date?

Interlagos, or the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace as it is officially called, is the traditional home of Formula 1 in Brazil. It has staged all but 10 editions of the iconic race, with Jacarepagua in Rio de Janeiro stealing the Brazilian GP from Sao Paulo in 1978 and again from 1981 to 1989.

F1 considered returning to Rio in 2020 amid concerns about the future of the Brazilian GP in Sao Paulo. But further funding from the local government kept Formula 1 at Interlagos while also renaming the race as the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in 2021 to signify its enlarged fiscal role.

Lotus won the first Brazilian Grand Prix with Sao Paulo native Emerson Fittipaldi in 1973

Either as the Brazilian Grand Prix since 1973 or the Sao Paulo Grand Prix since 2021, the only time Lotus saw one of their drivers stand atop a podium was at Formula 1’s first official meet at Interlagos. F1 had held a demonstration race in 1972 to prove Interlagos could hold races.

Sao Paulo native Emerson Fittipaldi, who was pivotal to Formula 1 finally racing in Brazil, won his home Grand Prix with Lotus in 1973. He produced a storybook result to delight the home crowd, and the two-time drivers’ champion registered another victory on his return in 1974.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Sao Paulo GP from Senna’s painful win to Hamilton’s title

Fittipaldi’s second Brazilian Grand Prix win came after moving to McLaren for the 1974 term, and it even helped the son of Sao Paulo to claim his second championship by three points to Clay Regazzoni. Carlos Pace, after whom Interlagos was renamed, also won the race in 1975.

McLaren are the all-time most successful F1 team at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix

While Fittipaldi won the second running of the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1974 with McLaren, it took the team from Woking until 1984 to win again and not before F1 switched to Rio. Alain Prost kicked off his run to become the most successful F1 driver at the Brazilian GP for them.

Prost was the master of Jacarepagua to win five times through Formula 1’s visits to the track in Rio for the Brazilian GP. Sao Paulo native Ayrton Senna then later helped force F1 to move the Brazilian GP back to his home in 1990 and took two wins for McLaren in 1991 and 1993.

Further wins with Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jenson Button also helped McLaren to emerge as the most successful Formula 1 team through the all-time history of the Brazilian GP. But the Woking outfit have seldom challenged over recent visits.

Ferrari and Mercedes are the most successful engine manufacturers at the Sao Paulo GP

Ferrari taking all of their all-time Brazilian Grand Prix wins using engines of their own making also ensures the Scuderia are the race’s most successful power unit provider so far. But they share the record with Mercedes, largely due to their dominance of the V6 turbo-hybrid era.

Mercedes initially funded the production of the Formula 1 engines Ilmor made and won the Brazilian Grand Prix four times. The Brackley natives then bought the Brixton operation, and dominating from the introduction of the 1.6L V6 turbo-hybrid era in 2014 delivered vast joy.

Ferrari are the most successful F1 team at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo

Ferrari are also the most successful Formula 1 team in the history of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo. Of the Scuderia’s 11 all-time wins in Brazil, the Maranello outfit stood atop the podium nine times at Interlagos. Ferrari even won in Sao Paulo before and after going to Rio.

Mercedes are the most successful engine manufacturers at the Brazilian GP in Sao Paulo

Hakkinen winning the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1998 and 1999, Coulthard in 2001, Montoya in 2005 and Button in 2012 for McLaren have also helped to make Mercedes Formula 1’s most successful power unit provider in the race’s history in Sao Paulo so far with 11 all-time wins.