Opened in 1940, the original Interlagos was a magnificent facility with a first corner as testing as any in Grand Prix racing. The track followed a tortuous course, winding back on itself in a natural bowl among the smog-filled suburbs of Sao Paulo. When the Brazilian Grand Prix returned in 1990, it was held on a reduced but still demanding configuration. The new Senna "S" had replaced the first corner, and two more link roads had reduced the length from 4.946 to 2.687 miles. This was Ayrton Senna country, and when he spun out of the 1994 race, the disappointed crowd filed home. Rubens Barrichello, who grew up within sight of the circuit, was never able to win his home race but Felipe Massa was successful in 2006 and 2008 – almost snatching an unlikely world title that latter day. In the event, Lewis Hamilton clinched that championship on the last lap. Fernando Alonso (2005, ’06), Kimi Raikkonen (2007), Jenson Button (2009) and Sebastian Vettel have also won the World Championship at Interlagos.
