Ferrari at Interlagos: the history

Interlagos returned to the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar in 2024. The circuit hosts the only South American round of the series. Built in 1938 and inaugurated two years later, the track – named after Brazilian driver Carlos Pace, who finished second at the 1973 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Arturo Merzario in a Ferrari 312 PB – is now 4.309 kilometres long. It features a main straight of 1.393 kilometres and includes 15 corners.

Historically, the Brazilian circuit – originally a high-speed oval with banked corners – has already hosted three editions of the 6 Hours of São Paulo as part of the FIA WEC calendar from 2012 to 2014. During those three years, Ferrari claimed two LMGTE Pro class wins with the 458 Italia GT2, driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Gianmaria Bruni, in 2012 and 2013. Among other GT endurance victories at Interlagos, one standout result came in 2009, when Daniel Serra and Francisco Longo won the 500 km of Interlagos in a Ferrari F430 GTC.

In previous decades, the Maranello manufacturer also achieved several notable results in endurance races held at the São Paulo circuit. These included a victory in the Prêmio Cinqüentenário ACB in 1957, claimed by I. Ferreira in a Ferrari 750 Monza. Celso Lara Barberis also won the third, fourth and fifth Prêmio Cinqüentenário, driving the 500 Mondial – in the Sport class – in the same year.

In 2024, before over 73,000 spectators, the Ferrari – AF Corse 499Ps finished fifth and sixth, with Pier Guidi–Calado–Giovinazzi and Fuoco–Molina–Nielsen respectively.