Formula 1 blasts down to Sao Paulo for its penultimate round of the 2022 season. Here is all the info on the Brazilian Grand Prix, including the weekend schedule and how to watch.
Obviously, with both championships decided, a lot of teams may already be looking ahead to 2023. But that there are still a number of scores to settle.
Just five points separate Sergio Perez in second from Charles Leclerc in third in the drivers’ championship. After a disappointing series of races, Leclerc would surely love to return the Ferrari team back to winning ways at Interlagos.
Meanwhile, the battle for fourth in the drivers’ standings has heated up in recent races, too. Lewis Hamilton has entered the fray, currently 15 points behind Mercedes teammate George Russell. Carlos Sainz, in sixth, is also just four points further back than Hamilton.
Speaking of Mercedes, they have edged ever closer to a first win in 2022 during the past few outings. With Lewis Hamilton being granted honorary citizenship of Brazil recently, the Brit will be desperate to try and take his fourth Brazilian Grand Prix victory.
This weekend may struggle to match the drama of the 2021 Brazil weekend, though, which was a cracker.
Starting from the back, Lewis Hamilton flew up to P5 during the sprint race thanks to a number of daring overtakes. Then, starting from P10 in the Grand Prix, Hamilton carved through the field once more before battling for the lead with Max Verstappen. The then-title rivals aggressively fought each other, but Hamilton managed to take the victory.
If we see as much action as last year, F1 fans could be in for a treat. But when are all the sessions of the Brazilian GP?
F1 Brazilian Grand Prix UK start time
Because of the sprint race format, this weekend veers away from the traditional Formula 1 session style.
Firstly, Friday 11 November holds two sessions. Opening the weekend is free practice 1, which starts at 3:30pm UK time. Following this, qualifying moves from its usual Saturday slot to Friday. The hour-long session starts at 7pm UK time on the Friday.
Saturday then kicks off with free practice 2, which will be live from 3:30pm UK time. Teams will be looking to preserve their cars in this session for the sprint race that is after, though. The short form race starts at 7:30pm UK time and will decide the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Finally, the Brazilian Grand Prix will start at 6pm GMT on Sunday 13 November.
How can I watch all the action?
Unfortunately, fans looking to watch the Brazilian GP live in the UK will need access to Sky Sports F1. This is channel number 408 for Sky customers, whereas on Virgin Media it is 516. On BT Sport, Sky Sports F1 is Channel 425.
Currently, a complete Sky Sports subscription – which includes the F1 content – comes in at £25 a month on top of your existing TV deal. Alternatively, new Sky customers can get TV and sports for £46 a month. These prices may vary over time.
A different option comes in the form of Now TV. There are two current options which will allow you to watch the race. Firstly, a 24-hour “day membership” allows you to pay for a single day of your choosing. This is an £11.98 one-off payment.
If you want all the Sky channels without Sky TV membership, you can pay for a monthly membership to Now TV instead. For £33.99 a month, you have unlimited access to all Sky Sports channels whilst being able to watch across a range of devices.
Don’t want to part with your money? No worries. Channel 4 will be showing highlights of both qualifying/sprint and the race a few hours after the live action. However, they are on late in the evening.
C4’s qualifying highlights show begins a 11.10pm on Saturday 12 November. Similarly, their highlights coverage of the Brazilian Grand Prix starts at 10.55pm on the Sunday night.
Featured image credit: Getty