291,717 fans passed through the circuit gates at Interlagos over the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix weekend. It was a new record figure for the Brazilian race.
Formula 1 has announced a weekend attendance of over 290,000 at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix – the largest-ever figure in Interlagos’ 41-race tenure on the calendar. This year’s figure represents a 25,000 increase (almost 10%) on last years total. Attendances have been on the rise in Brazil in recent years, with overall weekend attendance having almost doubled since 2018.
The race was declared a sell-out event, with most grandstand tickets having sold out very quickly when tickets were first on sale. Attendances at the São Paulo Grand Prix have been boosted in recent years by the addition of the Heineken Village – a general admission area located on the hill adjacent to the final sector of the track, with capacity for around 15,000 fans.
2024 São Paulo Grand Prix Sets New Interlagos Attendance Record
The 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix currently ranks as the 11th best-attended race weekend of the year, though it is likely to fall to 12th when an official figure for last month’s United States Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas is revealed.
Last year, the Interlagos race ranked 14th in the end of year list. This year, it overtook the Miami Grand Prix (with 16,000 more in attendance than at the Florida race), while the Las Vegas Grand Prix (which attracted over 300,000 in its inaugural year) is yet to take place.
It seems somewhat surprising that attendances at Interlagos have double since 2017, given that was the last season in which a Brazilian driver competed in the sport. Brazil has a deep affinity with Formula 1, mostly thanks to the legacy of Ayrton Senna. 30 years on from his death, Senna’s career was commemorated at the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton completing tribute laps in his 1990 World Championship winning McLaren.
If rumours are to be believed, there could be a Brazilian driver on the grid in 2025, with 2023 Formula 3 Champion and current Formula 2 racer Gabriel Bortoleto set to secure a seat at Sauber.
Verstappen Storms to “Super Sunday” Victory
Heavy rain after the Sprint race on Saturday meant that the Grand Prix qualifying session was postponed until Sunday morning, making this the first race since the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix at which qualifying was rescheduled for race day.
The amended timetable saw qualifying run at 07:30 on Sunday – the earliest time at which an F1 qualifying session has ever been held. Trackside fans faced delays when trying to enter the circuit on Sunday morning and endured long periods without track action due to Saturday's weather conditions. Some grandstands flooded as a result of the heavy rain. Nevertheless, the Brazilian crowd was treated to memorable scenes when the action eventually began.
Sunday looked set to be a milestone day for Lando Norris’ title hopes, with him starting from pole position and title rival Max Verstappen only 17th on the grid. In the Grand Prix, however, the momentum swung in the opposite direction, with Verstappen completing a masterful drive from 17th to victory and Norris struggling to sixth.
Verstappen’s win was only the fifth Grand Prix victory from as far back as 17th in Formula 1’s 75-season history and the first in almost 20 years, since Kimi Raikkonen's win at the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix. Verstappen now holds a 62 point lead in the Drivers’ Championship, with a real possibility of claiming a fourth successive title at the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix.
