Emerson Fittipaldi at Jacarepaguá by Sérgio Valle Duarte · CC BY 3.0
F1 has a habit of moving on quickly.
Circuits fall out of favor, cities change priorities and entire racing venues quietly vanish.
Jacarepaguá Circuit in Brazil
Few examples are as striking as Jacarepagua circuit, the former home of the Brazilian GP in Rio de Janeiro.
It was; regular stop on the F1 calendar, the track was not just abandoned, it was completely demolished and leaving no physical trace behind.
However, today, fans often confuse it with Interlagos in Sao Paolo, in reality, it was a very different place with a very different fate!
When Jacarepaguá Was Built
The Autodromo International Nelson Piquet, was constructed in 1977 and opened in 1978.
However, it was built on reclaimed marshland in the western suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, that area at the time was largely undeveloped.
The flat terrain shaped the circuit’s character; unlike Interlagos, which flows over hills and elevation changes, Jacarepagua was different, fast, wide and relatively smooth.
Long straight and sweeping corners defined the layout; a power circuit rather than a rhythm track.
However, originally named Autodromo International de Rio de Janerior, it was later renamed in honor of Nelson Piquet, Brazil’s first F1 champion.
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How Many Formula 1 Races Were Held There
Jacarepaguá hosted the Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix ten times, between 1978 and 1989.
Those races came during a fascinating era for Formula 1, spanning ground-effect cars, turbo domination, and the peak of rivalries involving drivers like Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, and Ayrton Senna.
Some seasons saw the Brazilian Grand Prix rotate between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Eventually, however, Formula 1 began to lean toward Interlagos as its long-term home in Brazil.
The final F1 race at Jacarepaguá took place in 1989, quietly closing the chapter on Rio’s time as a Formula 1 host city.
Why Formula 1 Left Jacarepaguá
By the late 1980s the circuit was already starting to feel outdated; safety standards in F1 were evolving rapidly and the Rio circuit struggled to keep up.
Run-off areas were limited, infrastructure was aging and modernization required significant investment.
At the same time, Interlagos underwent a major renovation, bringing it up to modern F1 standards.
However, politics also played a role, Sao Paolo city leadership strongly backed Interlagos; Rio’s commitment to motorsport began to fade.
From 1990 onward, the Brazilian GP became permanently associated with Interlagos, leaving Rio’s circuit behind.
After F1
The circuit did not immediately fall silent after F1 departed, it continued to host major events throughout the ’90s, including CART races on a modified oval configuration known as the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway, as well as MotoGP and national Brazilian championships.
However, without F1, investment slowed and facilities aged further, maintanance became inconsistent and by the early 2000s, Jacarepagua was surviving rather than thriving.
Why Jacarepaguá Was Demolished
The final blow came not from motorsport, but from global sport politics.
When Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics, city planners identified the Jacarepaguá site as the ideal location for a centralized Olympic complex. The land was large, flat, and already publicly owned, making it far easier to redevelop than other areas of the city.
By this point, the circuit was in poor condition and no longer met international safety standards. Rather than invest in restoring it, authorities chose demolition.
In November 2012, the circuit was officially torn down.
Unlike many abandoned circuits that slowly decay, the circuit disappeared completely. Asphalt, pit buildings, grandstands, and access roads were all removed.
What Exists on the Site Today
Today, nothing from the original circuit remains at Jacarepagua. The land now is home to Barra Olympic Park, which includes permanent structures such as indoor arenas, a velodrome and tennis facilities.
Some Olympic buildings have since been repurposed for public use, education and community sports.
However, from a motorsport perspective, the result is stark, Rio no longer has a professional racing circuit.
A city that once hosted F1 now has no permanent venue capable of holding international motorsport events.
Was Jacarepaguá Near Interlagos? Jacarepaguá vs Interlagos
No. This is a common misunderstanding.
No this circuit was located in Rio de Janeiro, while Interlagos sits in São Paulo, approximately 430 to 450 kilometers apart. They are in entirely different metropolitan regions, separated by hours of travel.
The two circuits were never connected or adjacent. They represented two competing visions for Brazilian motorsport, one that ultimately ended in demolition.
A Circuit Erased From Memory
Most demolished circuits leave fragments behind, a corner repurposed as a road, a grandstand still standing, or at least a visible outline. This circuit left nothing. Without photos or historical records, you would never know a Formula 1 circuit once stood there.
For long-time fans, it remains a reminder that even at the highest level of motorsport, history is fragile. Tracks do not always fade slowly. Sometimes, they are simply erased.
The Evolution of Jacarepaguá before demolition
Old configuration of the Jacarepaguá circuit in Rio de Janeiro, showing the Formula One layout used from 1978 and later retained for international racing until 1995.
Source: Wikkimedia Commons
Diagram of the Jacarepaguá oval configuration in Rio de Janeiro, highlighting the layout used for CART and Formula Three events, with the Grand Prix circuit shown in grey for reference.
Map of the modified Jacarepaguá Grand Prix circuit in Rio de Janeiro, showing the configuration used between 1996 and 2005 for international events including Formula Three, Formula Renault, MotoGP, and Brazilian touring car racing.
Diagram of the Jacarepaguá short circuit in Rio de Janeiro, showing the 3.336 km layout used from 1996 to 2012 for events including Formula Three, GT3, Porsche Carrera Cup, GT4, Ferrari Challenge, and Stock Car Brasil.
This circuit matter because it represents a lost era of F1, when Brazil hosted races in more than one city, when circuits were shaped by geography rather than television demands, and when global events could still reshape entire sporting landscapes overnight.
However, it is one of the rare F1 circuits that did not decline into ruin, it vanished entirely.
And that, perhaps, makes it one of the most forgotten tracks of all time.
