Sao Paulo Grand Prix: Interlagos Weekend Schedule and How to Watch
The 2026 Formula 1 world title is already decided, and the grid heads to Interlagos in São Paulo for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix from 6 to 8 November. Kimi Antonelli clinched the championship with a third-place finish at the Mexico City Grand Prix. At 20, the Mercedes driver is the youngest world champion in the sport's history, three years younger than the previous record holder, Sebastian Vettel.
The races still matter for everyone else. Max Verstappen won in Mexico City, with Lewis Hamilton second, and that result lifted Verstappen to second in the drivers' standings, two points ahead of Hamilton. Those points decide the order behind the new champion, so the Brazilian round is about who finishes where in the table.
The track itself is the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos. It is a bumpy, anticlockwise circuit with a short, hilly lap and a reputation for changeable weather, and the race is scheduled for 71 laps. Lights out is at 17:00 GMT on Sunday 8 November. For the start, the five red lights above the grid go out one after another, and then the cars launch together.
The weekend builds towards that moment. Friday's first practice session, a one-hour run where teams test set-ups and tyres, is from 15:30 to 16:30 GMT, followed by a second practice from 19:00 to 20:00 GMT. Saturday brings a third practice from 14:30 to 15:30 GMT, then qualifying from 18:00 to 19:00 GMT. Qualifying sets the starting grid, and on a short lap a tenth of a second can be the difference between a clean run and a midfield fight.
BBC coverage is split across several channels. Practice and qualifying are on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, with the third practice session on Sports Extra 3. The race is on 5 Sports Extra from 17:00 GMT on Sunday. Commentary is also available on BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. BBC Sounds listeners can ask their smart speaker to "play the Sao Paulo Grand Prix" followed by the session they want. The BBC's post-race show, Chequered Flag, is available on BBC iPlayer and YouTube, as it is for every 2026 grand prix.
For anyone new to the sport, the simplest thing to follow is the gap between cars and the points on offer. The top ten finishers score, and the winner takes the most. Each finishing place changes the standings, so a driver who drops back can lose ground to a rival without a single overtake being made in front of them.
Next up after Brazil are the Las Vegas Grand Prix, from 19 to 21 November, and the Qatar Grand Prix, from 27 to 29 November, both 2026 rounds.
