Lewis Hamilton will start his 400th Formula 1 Grand Prix at Interlagos on Sunday, and he says he wants to win it. Only Fernando Alonso has reached the mark before him. Hamilton gets there at the circuit where he won his first world title in 2008.

The Ferrari driver has 399 starts after finishing second in Mexico City last weekend. His entries and starts are the same number, because he has started every Grand Prix he has been entered for since his 2007 debut. He only missed the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix after testing positive for COVID-19, where George Russell took his place at Mercedes and Hamilton was not entered.

Hamilton sets himself a target for race 400

Hamilton talked about the milestone at the Mexico City media day, before that race weekend began. "It's my 400th race there, which is kinda nuts," he said.

Hamilton's 300th race was actually the 2022 French Grand Prix, which he finished second although he did win his 200th, at Belgium in 2017, and his 250th, at Abu Dhabi in 2019.

He arrives in Brazil after a frustrating afternoon in Mexico. He took his first pole position since 2023, but Ferrari's chance of a one-two disappeared when Hamilton and Charles Leclerc clashed on the opening lap, and Max Verstappen went on to win.

Leclerc will miss Thursday's media day in São Paulo after becoming a father, and Ferrari junior Dino Beganovic will drive his car in Friday's first practice.

Ferrari's remaining races point towards 2027

Hamilton wants to win on Sunday, but he is already thinking about next year. "I think these next five races are like test races," he said in Mexico. He has also named the engine as Ferrari's biggest weakness, which GPblog covered in Lewis Hamilton set to be handed a 2027 title boost by new Ferrari design. Even so, the 41-year-old insists his commitment has not faded. "I'm still all in, and I will be for the foreseeable future," he told Sky Sports.

Interlagos is where Hamilton won his first title

Interlagos is closely tied to Hamilton's career. In 2007, his rookie season, he lost the title to Kimi Räikkönen there. A year later Felipe Massa won the race, which meant Hamilton needed fifth place. He passed Timo Glock's Toyota on the final lap to get it and took the championship by one point.

He has raced 18 times at the circuit, with seven podiums and three wins. The first came in 2016, when he led every lap of a rain-hit race ahead of Nico Rosberg.

He won again in 2018, and in 2021 he won from tenth on the grid, a day after fighting back from the rear of the field in the sprint. Brazilian fans have taken him to heart: he is an honorary citizen of the country, and he has long spoken of his admiration for Ayrton Senna.

Alonso reached 400 starts in 2024 and has added more since. Hamilton is due to join him when the São Paulo Grand Prix starts at 14:00 local time on Sunday, 8 November, provided he takes the start.