What Does Interlagos Mean to Me?

It is that unforgettable day, in the midst of an intense battle for the 2021 F1 World Championship, that stands out in Leo's mind as making Interlagos so special for him.

"It was my first visit to the Formula One podium. If you work in the sport and can make it up there, it really is the epitome of your career," he says.

Though Leo was born a nine-hour car journey away from Interlagos - in western Minas Gerais - he was able to share in the immense pride his country feels from hosting a Grand Prix growing up.

"There is special significance having a race in your home country. That the most technologically advanced racing competition in the world comes to your country creates a link," he adds.

"It makes it real. People can experience it. It is not just something you see on TV."

And for Leo, the buzz around Interlagos extends far beyond Brazil.

"If you ask most fans what tracks are memorable, so many will say Brazil," he says.

"My perception as a fan and an engineer is that Interlagos is right up there with Suzuka, Silverstone, and Spa - the tracks that always get people talking.

"I would say every F1 fan can give you a memory from an Interlagos race."

Having hosted 40 Grands Prix since 1973, and crowned six world champions (including five in a row between 2005 and 2009) it is not hard to see why.

Leo's memories of F1 at home go back to end of the last millennium, and the Brazilian love affair with São Paulo's most famous motor racing son, Ayrton Senna.

"My earliest recollection of following F1 was 1999," he says.

"The Senna effect and the legacy was still way too strong. People were watching Formula 1 almost religiously."

A point that would be proven two years later, when Leo and his mother visited friends one Sunday afternoon.

"It was clearly a household of people who were not F1 fans, but there it was on the TV," he adds.

"They were not watching a game show or the Sunday afternoon movie, they were watching the Grand Prix.

"That was the year Juan Pablo Montoya first started to show everyone his talent and style. He passed Michael [Schumacher], and then got taken out by a backmarker!"

From that point on, the memories flow from Leo's mind.

"2003 was crazy, the rain was so heavy, and the race was shortened because Fernando [Alonso] crashed.

"There was this moment at the Curva do Sol when everyone kept going off, even Michael Schumacher.

"The camera panned across and there were five cars in the barriers, everyone crashed at the same place!

"Kimi [Raikkonen] crossed the line first, but they awarded the win to Fisi [Giancarlo Fisichella] a few weeks later.

"Then it is impossible to not remember Fernando's championships in 2005 and 2006, Kimi's in 2007, or Lewis' in 2008, with the contrast between elation and devastation in the pit lane. Then there was Jenson in 2009, too."

It would not be until five years after Jenson's title - the first for those working in Brackley - that Leo, who was coming to then end of his Mechanical Engineering degree in Campinas - a city 90km northwest of São Paulo, first stepped foot at Interlagos.

The first experience of the circuit he had spent more than a decade watching on TV first-hand, and it didn't disappoint, even serving as motivation to help get Leo where he is today.

"It was the first time I could say, 'this exists'. It is not a dream, and it happens in my own country.

"I had done an internship in France at Viry-Châtillon with Renault, so I got into the paddock on Thursday.

"It was not just my first race weekend, but my first time seeing what it meant to work at an F1 track. That definitely kindled the fire inside me to say I want to work in F1 one day."

As well as the sport of F1, the circuit also left an impression on Leo.

"Depending on where you are at Interlagos in the grandstands, you can watch half the lap or more because of the elevation change, which is another element that makes the track so cool.

"From the paddock, you can see the entirety of sector two. At most tracks you cannot see anything from the paddock. That makes it all so special."

Interlagos has everything a driver could possibly want to create the ultimate driving thrill. That rush of adrenaline is felt on the pit wall, too.

"It is a difficult race to execute because the lap is so short - under a minute and ten seconds," says Leo.

"You are more or less deciding every lap if you need to make a pit stop or not. Do we need to react?

"The time you have to make that decision is really short, so that brings extra pressure. But it is exhilarating at the same time.

"A driver is always turning the wheel at Interlagos."

Leo's journey in F1 had to wait over two years for its second chapter. After his internship in Research and Development at Renault, he would not get another experience of an F1 track until 2017, when he joined Mercedes as a Race Strategist.

As it turned out, he was not the only one enjoying a first day in Brackley.

"I started on the same day as Valtteri [Bottas]. My first job was to do a compilation of race starts for him before that season. He went on to win three races so I guess I helped out," Leo adds.

"I had not considered before joining F1 how much work went into making strategy.

"But I was very happy at how quickly I realized how much I enjoyed it. It is just one of those things in life that happen," he adds. When Leo next walked through the paddock gates at Interlagos, he had a special guest in tow.

"I was able to bring my mum into the paddock with me in 2018," he says.

"To be able to show her what I did and experience a tiny bit of it was such a great feeling."

The reasons to celebrate kept coming that weekend. Lewis' win and Valtteri's P5 were enough to secure a fifth consecutive Constructors' title for the team. Cue celebrations. São Paulo style.

"We got to watch Shov samba dance on the podium! He was nervous about it but did a great job.

"There were five or six professional samba dancers on the podium after the champagne, and Shov really got into the dancing!"

The next time Leo returned to Interlagos, it was his turn in the podium spotlight, on the shoulders of Lewis and Valtteri in 2021.

A year later, success again with George's first win - made all the more sweet after a tough season for the team. And it was a one-two.

"Getting that win was a relief more than anything else. The team and I had worked so hard that year.

"Unlike 2021, we had to get used to strategising against seven other teams, not just Max. It felt so good to get that victory."