Formula 1
Brazilian GP McLaren preview
Brazilian Grand Prix - Race Preview 30th March 1997 Two weeks have passed since David and Mika's fantastic result in Australia; first and third positions have put the West McLaren Mercedes team at the ...
Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Brazilian Grand Prix - Race Preview 30th March 1997
Two weeks have passed since David and Mika's fantastic result in Australia; first and third positions have put the West McLaren Mercedes team at the top of the leader board for the start of the season, a position which everyone will be fighting to maintain. Furthermore it sees McLaren top the number of points accrued by a Grand Prix team in the Constructors Championship, with a total of over 2000.
The Grand Prix machine is once again on the road, this time to the South American leg of the Championship. With Brazil and Argentina following one after the other, the amount of freight which left the factory was in the region of 20 tonnes, and careful planning and packing has been necessary to ensure that everything arrives without damage. The team departs over the weekend, some of whom will stay out for the duration of the three week period encompassing both races.
The Interlargos circuit situated in the outskirts of Sao Paulo is 4.235ks long and with its hilly terrain present an interesting challenge to all the drivers. The stifling atmosphere along with the lack of grip and the G forces created by such a circuit, put both physical and mental pressures on the drivers unlike any other ciruit on the Grand Prix calendar.
The enthusiastic ambience of the Brazilian crowd will however, as in previous years, lift the drivers spirits as they wait on the starting grid prior to the race beginning. "Brazil does have a very special atmosphere" says David Coulthard, "and naturally having won last time out you approach the next race with a feeling of greater confidence. However, we still need to keep our feet on the ground as we are only at the beginning of the season."
Since Melbourne David and Mika have been testing at Silvestone, which involved a full race distance and some concentrated tyre testing. David also had the pleasure of meeting the Prime Minister, Mr John Major, when he visited the McLaren headquarters as a guest of Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjech.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Hungarian GP Saturday practice
Next article French GP report
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Coulthard
David Coulthard warns "heads will roll" if Williams FW48 upgrade fails
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
David Coulthard warns "heads will roll" if Williams FW48 upgrade fails
David Coulthard proposes F1 sprint for Madrid after Monaco 2027 addition
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
David Coulthard proposes F1 sprint for Madrid after Monaco 2027 addition
David Coulthard warns unchanged Madring return in 2027 would be "stupidity"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
David Coulthard warns unchanged Madring return in 2027 would be "stupidity"
More from
Mercedes
George Russell has lost 90 points to Max Verstappen in F1 2026 runner-up battle
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
10 h
George Russell has lost 90 points to Max Verstappen in F1 2026 runner-up battle
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Latest news
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Alex Bowman hits out at critics in snarky post, shooting down early exit rumors
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
6 h
Ryan Blaney gets sweet redemption after 'nightmares' following 2024 Homestead loss
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 6 h
IndyCar 2026 season review: Dale Coyne Racing
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
6 h
Noah Gragson apologizes to Daniel Suarez for spinning him at Homestead
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe