Adam’s Journey Report – 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix

Adam Rosales, who lastly ticked Brazil off his F1 bucket record final 12 months, shares his expertise and ideas after attending the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix.

Interlagos is a particular place. I do know I’ve stated this about different circuits however Interlagos is old skool in one of the best methods doable. It’s proper in the course of a residential neighborhood (much like Indianapolis motor speedway), however inside the fourth most populated metropolis on the earth.

Grandstand D

I purchased my 3-day ticket immediately from the circuit (by way of Eventim) for Grandstand D, which value approx. $660 USD. Grandstand D is a coated grandstand that’s positioned on the surface of Flip 1 and likewise has views of the Senna S curves. In frequent with the Mexico Metropolis Grand Prix, you might be restricted to your ticketed part at Interlagos. It’s a bit disappointing not to have the ability to discover different components of the circuit, however right here I used to be fortunate to be in the course of a chief sector with a number of monitor motion. The view from Grandstand D means that you can see a part of the pit lane and beginning line, and all the best way down the hill to Flip 3. I used to be capable of witness a number of drivers making errors into each Flip 1 and Flip 3. Among the impacts have been brutal, like when Albon hit the wall at Flip 1. It felt like the entire grandstand shook. It was LOUD and I used to be so shut that I may see him raging within the cockpit of his Williams.

One distinctive facet of Grandstand D (and apparently all grandstands at Interlagos, aside from M) is that there isn’t any reserved seating. This was stunning, particularly at such a excessive worth level. Though there are sufficient seats for everyone, it pays to reach early and declare your spot. I used to be there round 9am day-after-day and managed to seek out nice seats. Travelling solo helped. I launched myself to followers seated close by and everybody was pleasant. We took turns taking care of one another’s seats throughout meals, drink and toilet runs. I did see a couple of seat arguments in different components of the grandstand, nevertheless. There have been even a few drunken fights (seemingly the results of the ‘free beer’ being served, extra on that beneath), however followers round them have been fast to close them down. Safety was on the scene shortly, too. The safety presence was excessive and I felt secure on the monitor all weekend.

The monitor motion right here is unimaginable. It’s simply probably the greatest locations on the calendar to observe an F1 race, and final 12 months was particularly motion packed. From the dash to qualifying after which Max Verstappen’s epic drive in the course of the race itself, there was no scarcity of motion. The heavy rain throughout qualifying and the race additionally contributed to a number of driver errors. One other spotlight was seeing Lewis Hamilton get behind the wheel of Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/5B from the 1990 F1 season. The sound was completely epic, even at slower speeds. It was raining, however Hamilton nonetheless obtained on the throttle exhausting out of Flip 3 and the sound echoed fantastically as he made his means down the straight to Flip 4.

The group was vigorous and remained passionate all through the weekend, regardless of the inevitable rain showers. Fortunately, Grandstand D was coated. For instance, throughout one of many pink flag durations there was a man that determined he was going to run ‘laps’ forwards and backwards on the backside of the grandstand. Folks close by started cheering him on and earlier than lengthy, the entire grandstand was concerned. It was hilarious!

Grandstand D has TVs on the backside of the stand that present the dwell feed and you could possibly additionally see a bigger display screen on the backside of the hill by Flip 2. The audio is in Portuguese, however with the overlaying above the stand and automobiles on monitor it was usually tough to listen to the commentary above the noise. Heavy rain on Saturday afternoon noticed qualifying postponed till Sunday morning at 7:30am. Gates opened earlier at 7am. I arrived on the circuit at 6:30am, however didn’t make it inside till 7:45am because of the lengthy entry traces. I used to be fortunate as my part of the circuit wasn’t very huge. Many followers in different components of the circuit ended up lacking out on qualifying altogether on account of enormous entry delays. The organizers did their greatest to vary the schedule at brief discover, however there have been inevitable delays getting everybody by way of the gates at such an early hour.

Meals & Drink

The Grandstand D ticket worth included food and drinks. It wasn’t horrible, however it wasn’t nice both. Subsequent time, I’d quite get a less expensive ticket and purchase my very own food and drinks. Beer was included within the free drinks, however was imagined to be restricted to 2 drinks per particular person. This rule gave the impression to be selectively enforced, although, as I noticed a number of individuals being given 4-5 cups of beer whereas I used to be denied each beer and water on a number of events. The ‘free beer’ additionally contributed to actually lengthy traces. There have been no water refill stations, so that you needed to be a part of the lengthy queue even in the event you solely needed water. Between on-track classes, it was tedious and annoying to must queue up for 20-Half-hour every time. When it was raining or there was an energetic F1 session, you could possibly get served fairly shortly. Not having all-inclusive food and drinks would seemingly have helped ease the traces, and likewise minimize down on among the drunken fights within the grandstand.

Meals choices included a rotating menu of breakfast breads, pao de quijo (baked cheese rolls), pastries and smaller snacks within the morning and for lunch, scorching canine and burgers. Vegan choices have been obtainable as nicely. (Examine the menu right here.) Strains fashioned for the non-vegan choices at peak instances whereas the vegan choices have been sitting on the serving space and straightforward to acquire. Sandwiches, chips, ice cream and different snacks have been additionally served and included with the price of the ticket.

Group & Security

Talking actually, one of many major causes I hadn’t attended the São Paulo Grand Prix earlier than was on account of security considerations. You hear a number of tales within the media about how unsafe Brazil is and the way the groups have been victims of robberies and muggings previously. For me, the protection ranges in Brazil have been much like the race in Mexico Metropolis. There was a big safety and police presence round Interlagos, and barricades have been arrange in strategic areas to information followers to and from the Autódromo metro station. There was a continuing stream of individuals strolling and the realm was lined with distributors promoting bootleg merchandise, souvenirs and meals/drinks. I sometimes get pleasure from shopping for a few of this bootleg merch as presents for mates or household. It’s a good suggestion to hold a bit of money for these transactions, although some distributors did have card readers.

Though the vibes have been good and all people was in optimistic spirits, I nonetheless saved my guard up and didn’t use my cellphone an excessive amount of on the road. I didn’t see something sketchy myself. Some followers I spoke to on Sunday talked about that they needed to stroll away from the circuit and into the native neighborhoods in an effort to request an Uber, which might be dangerous. The organizers encourage followers to make use of the Metro to get to and from the circuit.

The group on the entry gates to Interlagos might be improved. For instance, lots of people from Grandstand G have been caught in line on the entrance gate for a number of hours on Sunday morning. My very own expertise on the entrance gates was that many followers have been unable to scan their tickets from their smartphones.There would usually be two or three failed makes an attempt to scan earlier than the gate worker requested for his or her cellphone and adjusted it in a sure means for the ticket to scan. It could assist if all people had a paper or bodily ticket. I all the time print mine and hold it in a ziploc bag by way of the weekend due to this actual situation. This prevents any injury and likewise retains it dry when it rains, which it did quite a bit this weekend.

Safety was a easy bag verify. The record of prohibited objects was communicated prematurely on the circuit web site, so it was a reasonably streamlined course of. As soon as contained in the circuit, you’re restricted to your part so there isn’t a complete lot to discover. A brand new fan zone was launched finally 12 months’s race, and entry was included with some tickets, like Grandstands G & R. I didn’t buy entry, however I heard it was pretty customary with driver interviews within the morning and concert events within the night. The entry for Grandstand G was shared with the fan zone, which most likely exacerbated the entry points on Sunday morning for this part. No matter what part you might be in, I might advocate arriving early every day. For those who don’t need to cope with huge queues, goal to reach at the least two hours earlier than the primary F1 session.

Attending to Interlagos

The race promoter affords two major choices to get to the circuit, an categorical bus or the metro (the metro additionally has an categorical possibility). Visitors in São Paulo is notoriously dangerous and you may anticipate prolonged delays close to the circuit when touring by street. Driving estimates from Google Maps can develop into very unreliable when there’s visitors delays, however you’ll be able to anticipate a one-way journey from central areas of São Paulo to take 1-2 hours and even longer on race weekend. The categorical buses departed from 4 devoted areas inside the metropolis and solely value 4.40 BRL ($0.70 USD). I used to be planning to make use of the categorical buses, however modified my thoughts after arriving within the metropolis and seeing how dangerous the visitors was.

I opted for the metro as a substitute. Trains on the common Esmeralda Line 9 depart each jiffy, and it solely takes about thirty minutes from Pinheiros station, for instance. This service is crowded and you might be unlikely to get a seat with out some luck. The circuit additionally organizes an categorical metro from two stations, and this was the service I made a decision to make use of. The categorical metro begins at Pinheiros and solely stops as soon as at Morumbi-Claro earlier than arriving on the Autódromo. Journey time was about twenty minutes from Pinheiros. Trains do develop into fairly crowded, however I used to be capable of finding a seat every day by strolling in the direction of the tip of the prepare.

The categorical service requires a separate ticket, which prices 30 BRL (just below $5 USD). At Pinheiros, there was a devoted entrance with employees available to be sure to had the right categorical ticket. After verifying my ticket with the employees, I used to be given a wristband, which is used to hurry issues up on the return journey. The categorical trains ran on a platform that was sectioned off from the others and was just for categorical ticket holders, and free water bottles have been obtainable.

When getting back from the Autodromo station on the finish of every day, I used to be capable of take a particular entrance on the aspect that bypassed a majority of the followers utilizing the common metro trains. After exhibiting my wristband, I used to be guided by way of a aspect corridor and up a ‘personal’ escalator to a devoted ready space on the platform. It was crowded and the traditional trains additionally stopped at this part of the platform. I may have taken one in all these, however opted to avoid wasting time and look ahead to the following categorical metro.

Having the categorical ticket seemingly saved me at the least an hour of ready outdoors the station, and I undoubtedly advocate shopping for these tickets on race weekend. Relying on the place you resolve to remain in São Paulo, it shouldn’t be too tough to take an Uber, bus or metro to one of many ‘categorical’ stations. I stayed in Jardim Paulista and I took an Uber to and from Pinheiros station, which took about twenty minutes within the morning and a bit longer on the finish of the day.

Rio de Janeiro

My spouse and I additionally visited Rio de Janeiro. It was our first time in Brazil (and South America) and we needed to discover Rio. We stayed in an Airbnb subsequent to Copacabana seaside for the primary few days after which moved to a pleasant lodge, Copacabana Palace, for the final two nights to have a good time my spouse’s birthday. The Airbnb we stayed in missed the seaside and value $260 USD per evening. Not low cost, however it was spacious (2 mattress / 2 tub) and it had a superb view. Having learn numerous on-line guides and seen some YouTube movies, we have been initially a bit nervous about strolling across the space. However it felt completely secure. We did in fact train precautions akin to preserving our belongings tucked away and never utilizing our smartphones within the open on the road.

Understanding I’m from the states, somebody in contrast Rio to Miami and São Paulo to New York Metropolis, which felt fairly correct. Rio may be very vacationer pleasant and affords a number of out of doors actions like forest hikes, paragliding or simply hanging out on the seaside. We booked a forest hike by way of Viator to expertise some nature, and it was nice. The native vegetation is gorgeous on this a part of the world, and we additionally noticed some lemurs and monkeys. For those who don’t need such a strenuous exercise, the BioPark of Rio (botanical backyard) is one other nice technique to expertise Brazil’s lovely nature. The realm close by was additionally residence to loads of cool beachside bars and eating places. An area buddy that I met at Zandvoort additionally really useful Boteco Boa Praça, which was good. Secure space, good drinks and really tasty meals. The close by sidewalk was lined with distributors and we purchased some handcrafted jewellery to help the native artists and produce again as presents.

After three nights on the AirbnB, we moved to Copacabana Palace and had a really good keep. The employees was pleasant and welcoming, and the on-site eating places have been glorious. The lodge additionally had devoted employees on the seaside providing chairs and umbrellas, who have been additionally glad to regulate your stuff in the event you needed to go for a swim. Foods and drinks stalls have been additionally positioned alongside the seaside, making it straightforward to get pleasure from a few caipirinhas. Copacabana Seaside shouldn’t be probably the most enjoyable seaside we’ve ever been to, nevertheless, as we have been always being interrupted by distributors providing drinks, fruit, massages and even hair braiding companies. We ended up spending extra time on the lodge’s pool, however it was nonetheless cool to expertise Copacabana Seaside.

São Paulo

We flew from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo. There are a ton of each day flights between the 2 cities, however it’s price remembering that each cities have two major airports. São Paulo is an enormous metropolis. I actually didn’t understand how huge it might really feel. When arriving by air, it looks as if it goes on ceaselessly and in each path. I can see how one can examine São Paulo’s intense visitors and crowded downtown intersections to New York Metropolis. Getting round is pretty low cost with Uber, however the metro is even cheaper and doesn’t get delayed by visitors jams. I solely took the metro to and from the circuit however it was clear and environment friendly. We by no means felt unsafe exploring town, however caught to extra upmarket areas akin to Paulista, Itaim Bibi and Pinheiros.

Osteria Generale – Jardim Paulista is really useful for unbelievable Italian meals. Our dinner there was probably the greatest of your entire journey. Being busy on the monitor more often than not, I didn’t actually get to discover São Paulo as a lot as I might have appreciated. My spouse and I did handle to go to Beco de Batman on Monday morning after the race. That is an space that showcases native artists and options cool wall murals. I discovered some actually cool presents and clothes in a few of these. It’s undoubtedly price a visit to wander the alleyways and take a look at the massive murals.

In comparison with Rio, São Paulo generally is a bit harder for individuals who don’t communicate any Portuguese. It undoubtedly helps to study some fundamental phrases. Most locals perceive Spanish, which is my first language, however they’ll reply in Portuguese. Both means, I managed to get by with Spanish and a few fundamental Portuguese phrases.

Remaining Ideas

Experiencing Formulation 1 in Brazil had been on my bucket record for years and I’m actually glad I used to be lastly capable of make it occur. I undoubtedly advocate this race and visiting Brazil. The individuals we met in each cities have been actually welcoming and good. The race itself is such a enjoyable expertise. The group is unbelievable, costs are affordable and entry to the circuit by way of the categorical metro is comparatively straightforward. Interlagos by no means disappoints with regards to thrilling racing and it undoubtedly created some particular recollections for me final 12 months. Attempt to give your self a little bit extra time to discover earlier than or after race weekend, even in the event you keep in São Paulo. I can’t wait to return to Brazil, and I’ve already obtained my journey deliberate for the 2025 São Paulo Grand Prix.