The McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Team heads to Brazil for the 2026 São Paulo Grand Prix, ready to take on one of the most iconic venues in motorsport.
With its passionate fans and unmistakable atmosphere, the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos, provides a fitting stage for another important weekend in the team's fight for strong points in the Constructors' Championship as the battle for third continues. McLaren Mastercard is 17 points behind Red Bull after a frustrating Sunday afternoon in Mexico City, but with 172 points still up for grabs, anything is still possible.
Interlagos delivers a distinctive challenge, combining dramatic elevation changes, an iconic set of corners as well as the long uphill run back towards the start-finish line. Finding the right balance between cornering performance and straight-line speed will be essential, with traction and stability key to putting together a competitive lap and creating opportunities to race.
The circuit's changeable weather adds another layer of complexity, making adaptability just as important as outright pace. Building a clear understanding of tyre behaviour during practice, managing traffic on the short lap and remaining responsive to changing conditions will be central to a well-executed weekend. The team's focus will be on disciplined preparation and sharp decision-making, ready to make the most of any opportunities that arise.
The mission in São Paulo is clear: extract the maximum from the car, put both cars in contention to fight at the front and convert that performance into strong Constructors' Championship points. Every practice session offers an opportunity to improve ahead of Qualifying, and in the Grand Prix, every point matters as the season approaches its concluding phase. The team will approach the weekend with determination, working together at the track and back at the factory to deliver the strongest possible result following a frustrating weekend in Mexico City despite the MCL40 showing strong pace.
Alongside preparations for Brazil, the team continues its development pathway with a focus on front and rear wing upgrades along with small floor components being delivered to track. The aim is to unlock further aerodynamic performance and refine the car's balance, supporting the ongoing push to strengthen competitiveness. Careful evaluation and learning will remain central to this process, as the team works to translate development into usable performance and stronger results on track.
McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 Reserve, and 2027 McLaren Hypercar Team Driver, Leonardo Fornaroli will return to the MCL40 during Free Practice 1 this weekend, replacing Oscar for the session. This is the team's fourth and final mandated rookie outing. Leo previously drove in FP1 in Barcelona-Catalunya, Hungary and Mexico City.
Peter Prodromou - Chief Technical Officer, Aerodynamics: "We've got some updates coming to the car across the front wing, rear wing and some floor components as part of our normal development cycle. The aim is to make up ground, improve our performance over the remaining races and build momentum into next year. São Paulo has been a good circuit for us in the past and is a fairly representative track, so we're hopeful these upgrades can help us take another step towards the front.
"The season isn't over yet: these upgrades are designed to improve the car now and help us in our fight for third in the Championship. While the learning we take from these upgrades will feed into next year's development, we also expect to carry over the concept of the new front wing into the launch specification of next year's car."
McLaren Racing Heritage - Brazil
13 wins, 13 Poles, 34 podiums, 11 Fastest Laps
• Most recent win: 2025, Lando Norris in the MCL39
• Special race: 2012, Jenson Button's win in the MP4-27
• Standout race: 1993, Ayrton Senna's win in the MP4-8
Across the 1990s, the Brazilian Grand Prix was an early-season flyaway, and in 1993, it was the second race of the year, following on two weeks after the season opener in South Africa. It was evident from Kyalami that the Williams team had picked up where they left off in 1992, and replacing Nigel Mansell with Alain Prost hadn't dulled their advantage. But Ayrton Senna in front of his home fans at Interlagos comes with an added sense of manifest destiny.
It didn't start out too well for Ayrton. He qualified the MP4-8 an excellent third behind the Williams pair - but a full 1.8 seconds off Prost's Pole time. He slipped past Damon Hill to grab second position at the start, but the rookie took the place back on Lap 11. Things got worse for Senna when he was given a stop-go penalty for passing a backmarker under Yellow Flags. Then the rain came.
Most of the field pitted for Wet tyres, Prost did not, and paid the price, sliding out of control into a stationary backmarker, ending his race. After this, we had the novelty of a Safety Car. It had made a debut in 1973 at the Canadian Grand Prix, but 1993 saw its introduction as a permanent fixture. Senna was back up to P2 when racing resumed on Lap 38 but could not find a way past Hill. That changed as the track dried. Ayrton went early for slicks, on Lap 40, Hill had little choice but to follow on Lap 41. Initially, the Williams driver in his fourth grand prix, held onto his lead coming out of the pits - but Senna was the master in the greasy conditions... and had warmer tyres.
"1993 was probably some of Ayrton's best driving," says Gary Wheeler, who was Ayrton Senna's No.2 Mechanic at the time. "He won some iconic races that year, including Donington."
He took the lead into the long Ferradura corner, and pulled away to win by 16 seconds, joined on the podium by future World Champions Hill and Michael Schumacher - but also five-time World Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who presented him the winner's trophy.
"He'd already won his home Grand Prix once before. We didn't think he was going to win that race because everything was going against him," recalls Gary. "Then he pulled it out of the bag and won it."
The race was a milestone: McLaren's 100th F1 victory, a first for a renewed McLaren-Cosworth partnership after a decade away, but also Senna's second and final victory in Brazil.
"Ayrton winning his home race in Brazil was second to none. After the Chequered Flag, he stopped on the track and someone gave him a Brazilian flag, and he waved it as he drove around. The atmosphere was incredible. I've never known anything like it."
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Race laps: 71
Circuit length: 4.309km/2.677 miles
Total race distance: 305.879km/190.064 miles
Number of corners: 15 (5 right, 10 left)
Pit loss: +24s
Safety Car L1 pit loss: +11
Energy management required: Medium
Allocated tyre compounds: Hard: C3, Medium: C4 & Soft: C5
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