Corner Lab

Your car, the corner, and what it's doing there — the setup changes worth trying, in order.

The lap

Autódromo José Carlos Pace · Grand Prix

10 corners, 4 of which decide the lap. What each one asks of the car, and what you do about it.

StraightFast cornerMedium cornerSlow corner
Wing level wanted3/5
Traction demand5/5
Braking demand3/5
Kerb usage3/5
The lapAnticlockwise, bumpy, built on a hill, with a long uphill drag to the line. The whole setup points at one corner: Juncão. Left-side tyres do more work than right.
Set up forTraction out of Juncão, then bump compliance. The uphill run to the line is the longest full-throttle stretch — Juncão's exit is paid three times over.
Classic mistakeIgnoring the bumps. Interlagos rewards a more compliant car than it looks like it should; a stiff platform skates and loses traction where you need it.
Works hardestLeft side, especially the left-front
Length4.3 km · road course · BR
Corner by corner

Every corner on this layout

A marks the corners that decide the lap.

T1–2 Senna S

Heavy braking · downhill compression

Downhill braking into a compression, then a quick left-right. Easy to lock and easy to unsettle.

Technique
Brake early and let the compression help you. Fighting it costs more than the tenth you're chasing.
Demands
Braking-limited · Compression or crest loading · Wants yaw on entry · Bumpy surface

T3 Curva do Sol

Fast left · onto the back straight

Long, fast left feeding the Reta Oposta. One of the two exits that decide the lap here.

Technique
Be patient with the apex and get to full throttle as early as the car allows.
Demands
High speed — aero is live · Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited · Rear grip limited

T4 Descida do Lago

Medium left · downhill braking

Braking downhill at the end of the back straight into a double-left. The main overtaking spot.

Technique
Straight-line what you can. The downhill makes the car light exactly at turn-in.
Demands
Braking-limited · Wants yaw on entry · Sustained mid-corner load

T6 Ferradura

Long fast right

Long, committed, and it eats the left-front over a stint.

Technique
One input, held. Watch the left-front temperature more than the lap time.
Demands
High speed — aero is live · Front grip limited · Sustained mid-corner load · Degradation over a stint

T7 Laranjinha

Medium left

A linking left that sets up Pinheirinho. Easy to compromise, hard to gain in.

Technique
Get straight early so you can brake in a straight line for what follows.
Demands
Sustained mid-corner load · Transient, not steady-state

T8 Pinheirinho

Slow left

Tight and slow, with a bumpy entry that upsets the car under braking.

Technique
Brake before the bumps. Trying to trail through them rarely ends well.
Demands
Low speed — aero does little · Braking-limited · Wants yaw on entry

T9 Bico de Pato

Slow hairpin

Tight, slow and awkward — the 'duck's beak' — with a bumpy entry.

Technique
Patience. Get it pointed rather than carrying speed through.
Demands
Low speed — aero does little · Wants yaw on entry · Traction-limited

T10 Mergulho

Fast left · downhill

Quick and downhill, leading directly into Junção. Its exit sets up the most important corner.

Technique
Stay committed and be settled — you cannot afford to arrive at Junção unsettled.
Demands
High speed — aero is live · Wants a settled rear · Transient, not steady-state

T12 Junção

Slow left · the money corner

The corner that owns the lap. A bad exit costs you the entire uphill main straight.

Technique
Give up whatever entry speed you need to. Nothing else on this circuit is worth as much.
Demands
Traction-limited · Exit-phase limited · Low speed — aero does little · Rear grip limited

T13–15 Subida / Arquibancadas

Fast · uphill drag

The long uphill climb to the line, technically curved rather than straight, with the car loaded the whole way.

Technique
Nothing to do but hold it and carry what Junção gave you.
Demands
High speed — aero is live · Traction-limited · Wants a settled rear

Corner names and numbering follow common usage; some circuits number differently between layouts.