For the first time this season, Formula 1 goes racing with nothing left to decide at the top. Kimi Antonelli sealed the world title in Mexico City last Sunday. Now he heads to Brazil for the São Paulo Grand Prix, from Friday, November 6, to Sunday, November 8.
It is a classic weekend in every sense. Interlagos has hosted the Brazilian round since 1973, according to the circuit's Wikipedia entry. And this year, there is no Sprint. The official F1 timetable lists three practice sessions, qualifying and the race, and nothing else for F1.
The schedule, in local time and Eastern
São Paulo is three hours behind UTC, per F1. That puts it two hours ahead of New York and Miami this weekend, now that US clocks have gone back.
- Friday, November 6: Practice 1 at 12:30 (10:30am ET). Practice 2 at 16:00 (2pm ET).
- Saturday, November 7: Practice 3 at 11:30 (9:30am ET). Qualifying at 15:00 (1pm ET).
- Sunday, November 8: The Grand Prix starts at 14:00 (noon ET), over 71 laps or two hours.
Sunday's build-up is part of the show. F1's timetable has the drivers' parade at 12:00 and the national anthem at 13:44. Earlier that morning, a "Power of Sound" parade of V12 engines runs at 10:20. Support races from Brazilian F4, the Porsche Carrera Cup Brazil and the Porsche Sprint Challenge fill the gaps all weekend.
Why Interlagos is different
The Autódromo José Carlos Pace is short and old-school. A lap is 4.309 kilometres, and it runs anticlockwise. The track opened on May 12, 1940. It took its current name in 1985 to honour José Carlos Pace, the Brazilian driver who died in a plane crash in 1977.
The site also has a karting track named after Ayrton Senna. F1's race hub highlights seats above the first corner and the famous Senna S. The current contract to host Formula 1 runs to 2030, per Wikipedia.
The circuit is not only an F1 venue. It hosted the Brazilian motorcycle Grand Prix in 1992 and the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2012 to 2014, and endurance racing returned in 2024. The race itself changed its name, too. It has been the São Paulo Grand Prix since 2021, reflecting the support of the local government, RacingNews365 reports. The last race called the Brazilian Grand Prix ran in 2019.
The stakes after Mexico
Antonelli's title is done, but the fight behind him is wide open. The FIA's points summary after Mexico, published by gp.news, has Antonelli on 380 points. Max Verstappen is second on 261, two ahead of Lewis Hamilton on 259. George Russell has 250 and Charles Leclerc has 245.
That makes second place a real race. Fifteen points cover four drivers with four rounds to go. Verstappen arrives off a win in Mexico, and Hamilton finished second there in his Ferrari.
In the constructors' table, Mercedes leads on 630 points, ahead of Ferrari on 504 and Red Bull on 382. You can follow every change on F1's drivers' standings and team standings pages.
How Antonelli got here
If you missed the night in Mexico, our story on Antonelli's record-breaking title has the full race. He finished third behind Verstappen and Hamilton, and at 20 he became the youngest champion in the sport's history.
What comes next
Brazil starts a fast run to the finish. The 2026 calendar heads to Las Vegas on November 19–21, then Qatar on November 27–29 and the Abu Dhabi finale on December 4–6.
The Strip comes next. Our Las Vegas Grand Prix 2026 guide has the full weekend, from session times to ticket tiers.
