A lap at Interlagos with Adrian Sutil

UPDATE Interlagos is the third anti-clockwise circuit in the calendar, and situated in the city of Sao Paulo around 800m above sea level. This altitude means a normal atmospheric pressure of around 930mb and so a loss of nearly 10% of an F1 cars aerodynamic and engine performance.

The layout features a relatively tight infield section with gradients unsighting some of the corners, for example the double right Ferradura, combined with a long curved flat-out section uphill from Juncao, probably the most critical corner on the lap.

It's quite testing mechanically as the circuit can be bumpy and the apex speeds low in places, but sectors 1 and 3 require a lower drag set-up between somewhere like Barcelona and Spa. It's always an exciting race with a football stadium atmosphere.

10/12/09 This weekend the Formula 1 drivers will travel to Brazil for round 16 in the 2009 Formula 1 world championship. Adrian Sutil enjoyed two Brazilian Grand Prix weekends before. The Force India driver talks us a lap around Interlagos.

We start on the long pit straight, reaching about 320kph before the first corner. You have to try not to brake too hard as it's quite a wide turn that tightens at the end. You're in second gear by in the end but you have to be careful not to lock up the inside right wheel. There is a lot of camber in the road at this point and is quite steep downhill. The exit into turn two is very important as you need to carry the speed into three and onto the long straight.

Turn four is a fourth gear corner, pretty nice but not too difficult, where you can take a curb inside. Turn five is flat out into six and seven, which is a double right hander in fourth or fifth gear. The mid corner speed is very important as the exit is just 100m long so you can concentrate on getting a good entry to turn eight, which is another second gear right hander.

For nine you can use the camber but have to try not be too aggressive – it's a bit of a stop and go corner. Corner 10 is very similar to eight, a tight second gear right hander with wide curbs. Then there's a downhill left hander with a lot of camber again, which can be tricky in the rain as there may be rivers on the track and you can get aquaplaning. Then we go into the last corner, which is in third gear but the exit is crucial as we go onto one of the longer straights of the calendar and you can lose a lot of time if you don't get it right.