Typical of European motorsports at the time, this race was done as a test to convince the FIA if the Interlagos circuit and its organizers could capably hold a Grand Prix.

The following year, however, the race was first included in the official calendar, and it was won by defending world champion and São Paulo native Emerson Fittipaldi.

1977 was won by Reutemann, but the drivers began complaining about Interlagos's very rough surface, and the event was then relocated for a year to the new Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro.

But by this time, the population of São Paulo had risen from 5 to 8 million over the space of 10 years; the area surrounding the track was becoming increasingly run-down and the circuit did not look good for Formula One, which thanks to worldwide television exposure was becoming something of a glamorous spectacle.

The drivers were dissatisfied with the safety conditions of the very bumpy 7.873 km (4.892 mi) Interlagos circuit which had not been changed after the previous year's improvements.

The flat Jacarepaguá circuit, like Interlagos before it, proved to be extremely demanding: most corners were long and fast, some were slightly banked and the track had a very abrasive surface.

In 1981, Carlos Reutemann disobeyed team orders to let his teammate Alan Jones by and took the victory; the following year Piquet finished first and Keke Rosberg finished second but because of the FISA–FOCA war, Piquet and Rosberg were both disqualified for being underweight in post-race scrutineering, and the race victory was given to third placed Alain Prost, who would go on to win at Jacarepaguá four more times (thus earning the nickname "the King of Rio").

The Brazilian, a home favorite, finished third in Brazil after leading much of the race but then hitting his backmarker ex-teammate Satoru Nakajima in a Tyrrell.

1998 saw a controversy surrounding McLaren – Ferrari had protested about their braking system, and it was then banned from the Brazilian Grand Prix, although it had been approved four times by FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting.

The Colombian driver stunningly muscled his way past Michael Schumacher early on and led easily until an incident in which Arrows's Jos Verstappen ran into the back of his Williams-BMW and ended his race.

Montoya did eventually laid to rest the ghost of this event by winning the 2004 race in his final Grand Prix for Williams before moving to McLaren, holding off his future teammate Kimi Räikkönen to take a hard-fought victory.

Amidst this, a number of drivers, including McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard, led the race, and, when a heavy accident involving Renault's Fernando Alonso blocked the circuit and brought out the red flag, confusion reigned.

This decision was overturned days later in the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris after new evidence came to light which proved that Fisichella had crossed the finish line in the lead for a second time before Alonso's accident, and therefore was the rightful winner.

Fernando Alonso became the youngest ever Formula One World Champion at the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix, his third place behind winner Juan Pablo Montoya and championship rival Kimi Räikkönen was enough to clinch the title with two races remaining.

He fell to 19th position on the ninth lap due to a flat tyre caused by a minor collision with Giancarlo Fisichella when the former was trying to overtake the latter.

In March 2008, the mayor of São Paulo announced that he had signed a new deal with Bernie Ecclestone to continue the holding of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

After adopting a conservative strategy without risks for most of the race to secure at least fifth place, and the title, a late-race rain shower caused unexpected trouble.

First, Hamilton was pushed down to fifth place by German Toyota driver Timo Glock who didn't enter the pits for intermediates like most other front runners.

While everybody was focusing on the battle between these two (Vettel managed to stay in front in the end), against all expectations both were able to overtake Glock, who had lost all grip with his dry-weather tyres, in the very last corner before the finishing straight.

This meant that, while the McLaren Drivers' Championship title rival Felipe Massa won the race in his Ferrari, Hamilton ultimately grabbed the fifth place he needed to become champion.

Renault's Fernando Alonso, the previous youngest champion, was second ahead of Massa's teammate Kimi Räikkönen and Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

Lewis Hamilton, after a disqualification from qualification due to technical infringements, won the main race after achieving a fifth-place finish in the sprint after a back row start.

In spring 2019, Jair Bolsonaro, the President of Brazil, announced that the Brazilian Grand Prix would move back to Rio de Janeiro.

[9] In November 2020 a deal was signed which would see Formula One continue to race at Interlagos until 2025, albeit under the title of São Paulo Grand Prix.