[1] Following difficulties partly due to the 1929 stock market crash, it was decided to build a racing circuit instead; construction started in 1938 and the track was inaugurated on 12 May 1940.

[1] Its design was inspired by tracks such as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Roosevelt Raceway in the United States, Brooklands in England, and Montlhéry in France.

The name "Interlagos" was suggested by the French architect and urban planner Alfred Agache after the Interlaken region located in Switzerland.

Due to safety concerns with the 7.960 km (4.946 mi) original layout, including a bumpy surface, the inadequate barriers, deep ditches and embankments, the last Formula One race held on the original Interlagos was in 1980, when it was nearly cancelled after protests by many Formula One drivers – including defending world champion Jody Scheckter.

These factors meant that Formula One would move back to the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro, hometown of established star Nelson Piquet and where the Brazilian Grand Prix was held in 1978.

The circuit is often witness to dramatic results when it hosts the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix, especially since its move to an end of season slot in 2004.

[5] One of the main characteristics of Interlagos is that it was not built on flat terrain, but follows the ups and downs of hilly ground, which makes it harder to drive and demands more power from the cars' engines.

Additionally to the physical aspects there is also a climate component to the venue, the region where the track is located is known for having rapid changes in weather with outbursts of rain being common, which can vary from a short lived drizzle to a torrential storm.

The original track was full of fast corners and it allowed cars to keep maximum speed for up for many seconds, it was considered dangerous, and in 1990 the old layout was mostly revised.

For the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, the largest-scale repairs in the last 35 years were carried out at the circuit, to fundamentally solve problems with the track surface.

[18] In June 2012, further details of the proposed plans emerged, calling for the construction of a brand new pit building and the relocation of the start line from its current position between Arquibancadas and the Senna 'S' to Reta Oposta.

Reta Oposta is succeeded by a pair of downhill left turns that are called "Descida do Lago" (Lake's Descent) [4,5] into a short straight section that climbs up towards the back of the pit buildings.

At the end of it comes Arquibancadas (Bleachers) [15], a wide high velocity left turn that connects to the "Tribunas" straight to complete the final section of the track.