#Formula1 @Heineken Grande Premio De Portugal 2021 Preview. #F1 #PortugueseGP
Formula 1 Heineken Grande Premio De Portugal 2020 Race Start, Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve (Portimao Circuit), Portimao, Portugal. Image credit to Antonin Vincent/DPPI. 2021 Portuguese GP Preview.
After Max Verstappen won a wet and wild Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, round three of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship this weekend returns to the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal for the Formula 1 Heineken Grande Premio De Portugal 2021. This will be the 18th Portuguese Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship calendar since its inception in 1950.
2021 Portuguese GP Preview – A Look At The Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve
The 100,000 capacity Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve (known as the Portimao Circuit) is a permanent 4.692km (2.915 miles) racing circuit located in Portimao, Portugal. With a total cost of €195 million (approximately $250 million), the racing facility features a karting track, technology park, five-star hotel, sports complex, and apartments.
Construction was finished in October 2008 and the circuit was homologated by both the FIM on 11 October 2008 and the FIA a couple of days later. The track was designed by Architect, Ricardo Pina. In October 2010, the teams agreed to add the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve to the Formula One testing schedule alongside Bahrain.
In September 2013, the company that manages the Portimao Circuit, Parkalgar Serviços, was taken over by Portugal Capital Ventures, which is a Portuguese state-owned venture capitalist, placing the circuit under state management. The sale was forced by the debts accumulated by Parkalgar Serviços, believed to be approximately 160 million Euros.
In July 2020 it was announced that the circuit would host the Formula 1 Heineken Grande Premio De Portugal 2020 from 23 to 25 October 2020, as part of a revised calendar arising from the disruption caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. This marks the first time a Portuguese Grand Prix will be held since the 1996 event which was held at the Autodromo Do Estoril.
The circuit will also play host to the season-finale of the 2020 MotoGP season from November 20 to 22.
The track hosted the final round of the World Superbike Championship on 2 November 2008. On June 9, the circuit was confirmed to host a round of the 2008-09 A1 Grand Prix Championship season. The race was scheduled for the weekend of 12 April 2009. On 10 October 2008, the Le Mans Series announced a 1000km night race to be held at the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve on 2 August 2009.
On 5 November 2008, the FIA GT World Championship announced that the 7th round of the 2009 season will be held at Portimao on 13 September 2009. A Formula 1 testing session, with McLaren and Honda, was scheduled for 15–17 December 2008. Ferrari also ran at the circuit. Toyota also tested at the track on 20 January 2009 in the initial running of their new TF109 contender. The Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve also hosted the final round of the 2009 GP2 Series season in September 2009. From 2010 it contested a round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. Due to changes to the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, The Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve hosted the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix and once again for 2021.
On April 4 2009, then FIA-Boss Max Mosely stated that based on the quality of the track it could integrate the Formula 1 World Championship under the guise of the Portuguese Grand Prix, as long as a commercial agreement with Formula One Management is achieved.
The circuit has a resemblance to the old Nurburgring and Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, mainly because of its constant undulation. A1 Grand Prix Team Portugal’s driver Filipe Albuquerque said that there are big downhill slopes and right-hand corners after the main straight. He also stated that the circuit is good for overtaking because the track width. A1 Grand Prix Team New Zealand’s Earl Bamber also said there are many special corners with personality. He commented that the new track is a little bit dangerous like old school circuits with a roller coaster ride. A1 Grand Prix Team France’s driver Nicolas Prost confirmed that the asphalt is new, and the circuit has less grip.
It was confirmed that one of the corners of the track was named after former World Supersport rider Craig Jones who was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash at Brands Hatch in 2008.
The first episode of The Grand Tour, “The Holy Trinity” was filmed at the circuit in 2016.
The Autodromo Internacional De Algarve GP Circuit is 4.653 kilometres (2.891 miles) in length with 15 corners and runs in a clockwise direction.
Race distance is 306.826 kilometres (190.652 miles) in length with 66 laps in total.
Four-time World Champion Alain Prost and One-time World Champion Nigel Mansell hold the record for most Portuguese Grand Prix victories with three to their respective names.
Williams Racing holds the record for most Portuguese Grand Prix victories with six.
Lewis Hamilton holds the fastest lap record at the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve, posting a 1:18.750, set at last year’s event in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team F1 W11 EQ Performance racer.
2021 Portuguese GP Preview – Onboard Pole Lap Of The Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve
Here is the onboard pole position lap of the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve from the last year’s event, set by Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team F1 W11 EQ Performance racer. The Briton posted a 1:16.652. You can watch the footage right here at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFZpWwDBdFM
2021 Portuguese GP Preview – Last Five Portuguese Grand Prix Winners
2020: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 (Portimao). 1996: Jacques Villeneuve, Williams-Renault (Estoril). 1995: David Coulthard, Williams-Renault (Estoril). 1994: Damon Hill, Williams-Renault (Estoril). 1993: Michael Schumacher, Benetton-Ford (Estoril).
2021 Portuguese GP Preview – History of the Portuguese Grand Prix
There have been 17 Grands Prix in Portugal, with the first three switching between the Boavista and Monsanto circuits, before the loved Autodromo Do Estoril took its place on the Formula 1 calendar between 1984 and 1996.
There have been plenty of special moments and legends that have claimed victory in Portugal.
The late-great Sir Stirling Moss won the debut 1958 Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix race in Monsanto driving for Vanwall. Ferrari’s Mike Hawthorn (who won the 1958 Driver’s World Championship) was disqualified for restarting his car at the inaugural event against the direction of the circuit, losing seven championship points. However, title-rival, Sir Stirling Moss, saw the incident, which caused the disqualification and went to the judges to reverse the decision since he felt Hawthorn had done nothing wrong. Eventually, Hawthorn was re-classified and retained his seven points.
The debut race at Estoril was also one to be remembered, concluding the 1984 Formula One season, which featured two icons fighting for the title, Niki Lauda, and Alain Prost. Prost won the race, but Lauda claimed the championship by 0.5 points, the smallest margin in F1 history.
The following year’s event saw Ayrton Senna clinch his maiden Formula 1 victory for Team Lotus in a very wet Grand Prix.
Williams’ Jacques Villeneuve won the final Portuguese Grand Prix in 1996 before it dropped off the F1 calendar.
2021 Portuguese GP Preview – Tyres
Pirelli will be bringing with them to Portugal, the C1 white side-walled Hard tyres, the C2 yellow-marked Mediums and the red-branded C3 Softs alongside the green side-walled Intermediates and blue-marked Full Wets in-case of rain.
Drivers will have two sets of the hards, three sets of the mediums and eight sets of the softs.
DRS Zones
There will only be one DRS zone at the Autodromo Internacional Do Algarve, which is on the main straight.
Pit-Lane Speed Limits
Pit-lane speed limits will be 80kph during practice, qualifying and the race.
ICYMI: Emilia Romagna GP Rewind – Verstappen cruises to dominant victory in wet and wild Emilia Romagna GP
Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen won a thrilling wet-dry Emilia Romagna GP, with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton recovering to second and McLaren’s Lando Norris completing the podium.
Verstappen and Hamilton tangled at the opening corners, with the latter having to put on a charge after slipping off into the gravel trap at the Tosa hairpin just before the red flag near half race distance thanks to a massive incident involving Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas and Williams Racing’s George Russell.
Rain fell in the first half of the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit in the hour leading up to the Grand Prix meaning most of the cars left the grid on the green side-walled intermediate tyres.
When the 63 lap Emilia Romagna GP began, third-placed Verstappen made a brilliant run off the line to pull alongside Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez when the lights went out and the Dutchman was rapidly quick to go side-by-side alongside Hamilton – almost running onto the grass on his left-hand side – as they ran down to the Tamburello chicane.
Verstappen was ahead by the braking point, but Hamilton braked later to remain on the outside as the pairing went wheel-to-wheel around the first left part of the sequence.
The Dutchman stuck to the racing line and when Hamilton committed and kept his nose alongside, they tangled at the second apex of the chicane, damaging the F1 W12 EQ Performance racers’ left-front wing endplate and forced Hamilton to rumble over the kerbs.
Verstappen charged clear in the lead as the field continued to cautiously made their way around on the opening lap, which ended with the deployment of the safety car after Williams Racing’s Nicholas Latifi speared into the wall exiting Acque Minerali, where the Canadian had spun off, and went across the front of Nikita Mazepin’s Haas VF-21.
The race was halted until lap seven, with an extended period due to Haas F1 Team’s Mick Schumacher losing the rear of his Ferrari-powered VF-21 while warming his tyres in the safety car queue and smashing his front wing off on the wall at the pit-lane exit, which was closed as the debris was cleared.
Verstappen was able to remain in-front of Hamilton as the Briton had a look around the outside of the Red Bull on the rundown to Tamburello as they returned to racing speed, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had passed Perez for third place exiting the Variante Alta moments before Latifi’s shunt, also following close in third.
But a slip exiting Acque Minerali from Hamilton gave Verstappen some breathing space and had a 3.3 second gap at the end of the first racing tour.
Verstappen quickly extended his advantage to five seconds over the Mercedes driver, with Leclerc soon fading away from Hamilton’s rear, but was well ahead of Perez, who was hit with a 10 second stop-and-go penalty for overtaking under the safety car as he went wide at Piratella and briefly let McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly who was on full-wets get by.
Hamilton was able to keep the gap to Verstappen around five seconds for the next stage of the Grand Prix as they exchanged fastest laps, while considering when to come in to swap their intermediates to slick rubber.
Just after Verstappen pushed his lead to six seconds as they approached the mid-way point of the race, Hamilton was able to gain crucially, cutting the gap to three seconds before they found traffic ahead.
Once they got through the cars in-front, Verstappen’s advantage fell down to two seconds and after speaking over the radio to his team, he stopped for the C4 medium compounds at the end of the 27th tour.
Hamilton also stopped for the yellow-marked tyres at the end of the following lap, but the Briton’s decision to stay out for an extra tour and the right-front coming slowly off the Mercedes meant Verstappen’s gap was back up to 5.5 seconds at the beginning of the 31st lap.
On that lap, which had started with Verstappen lapping Mercedes’ Bottas, who was running near the end of the top ten in the other F1 W12 and at the head of another pack of lapped runners, Hamilton locked up passing Russell at the Tosa hairpin and slid off into the gravel.
The Briton went far enough to damage his front wing against the outside wall when he tried to turn onto the escape road, which forced the Mercedes driver to stop and slowly change gears to reverse and eventually went backwards taking the long way back onto the circuit.
Hamilton travelled back to the pits, promoting Leclerc to second place and Norris to third after Perez fell behind the McLaren after serving his 10-second stop-and-go penalty and pit-stop, to change his front wing, but was able to make his second stop under the safety car after Bottas and Russell’s massive incident at Tamburello.
The Briton was closing in very rapidly on the outside of the Mercedes on the rundown to the left apex of the chicane and just before they reached the braking point, they ran very close together.
Russell looked to have put his right-rear wheel on the grass, due to the reaction of Bottas jinking to the right – with the incident currently under investigation – and the Williams driver’s FW43B racer shot left, and the duo were both eliminated in a huge accident into the barriers on the inside and then the outside of Tamburello, where they were livid at each other in the gravel after coming to a halt.
The race was red flagged for 25 minutes before it resumed at the beginning of the 35th tour, but with a rolling safety car restart instead of another standing start – which was used at last season’s Italian and Tuscan Grands Prix.
Verstappen pulled clear of Leclerc when he reached the line, seconds after the Dutchman spun his RB16B racer almost spun the lead away when he suffered a wild moment and cut across on the inside of the first Rivazza corner as the safety car peeled off in-front.
The lack of slipstream behind Verstappen left Leclerc under-threat to Norris and the Briton – running the C4 red-branded softs compared to the mediums on the Ferrari and Red Bull – claimed second at Tamburello.
Verstappen flew clear at the front, reaching a lead of six seconds at the start of the 43rd tour, with Norris attempting to keep his softer rubber alive to the end in-front of Ferrari pairing Leclerc and Carlos Sainz who was promoted by Perez who spun off behind the leading SF21 as the Mexican ran through the Villeneuve chicane on lap 38 and dropped to 14th.
Meanwhile in the pack behind, Hamilton was in full salvage mode after gaining a lap he lost with his Tosa hairpin off slow run back to the pits due to the red flag.
He took the race restart in ninth place, immediately claiming a place when Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda spun off in-front of the Mercedes F1 W12 at Tamburello on the first lap at racing speed, and then made short work of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and McLaren’s Ricciardo once he lit up his medium tyres and benefitted from DRS down to Tamburello.
Hamilton took a while to close up to the Ferrari duo but eventually got by Sainz to set up an intense hunt in the closing stages, with Norris trying to keep Leclerc at bay as Hamilton closed towards the Ferrari.
When Leclerc fell out of DRS range behind Norris at the start of the 55th tour, Hamilton showed no mercy and took third place from the Monegasque-youngster around the outside ahead of Tamburello and chased off after the McLaren.
Norris held on for another five laps, but in the end, it was Hamilton who made a near identical-overtake with DRS assistance with three laps remaining to reclaim second place he had lost nearly half the Grand Prix earlier.
Verstappen was 20 seconds ahead and the two leaders exchanged a series of fastest laps in the final few laps, which eventually saw the fastest lap bonus point go to the Briton, as Verstappen crossed the line to claim the Emilia Romagna GP victory by 22 seconds, with Norris taking the third place 1.7 seconds behind the Mercedes.
The Ferrari pairing of Leclerc and Sainz, who both suffered several off moments during the wet opening stages, came at the Scuderia’s first home Grand Prix of the season in fourth and fifth respectively, ahead of Ricciardo who took sixth and Stroll who was seventh – with the latter claiming points after his AMR21 racer was quickly repaired on the grid after the brakes caught fire on the laps to the grid and the rain fell.
AlphaTauri’s Gasly wound up eighth after struggling on his full-wets in the early stages, with Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen ninth but currently under investigation from the stewards for a possible rolling start infringement.
Alpine F1 Team’s Esteban Ocon claimed the final points place in tenth ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso, who had lost his front wing after sliding off at Tosa hairpin on the pre-race laps before the start of the Grand Prix and later suffered a spin after the aforementioned massive crash involving Bottas and Russell.
Perez ended his race in 12th ahead of Tsunoda, whilst Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel had a late retirement with a suspected gearbox issue.
The Situation
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton returns to Portugal sitting on top of the World Driver’s Championship with 44 points and a one-point advantage over Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who is second on 43 points, while McLaren’s Lando Norris is a further 17 points behind his fellow British compatriot in third on 27 points.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team heads to Portimao on top of the World Constructor’s Championship with 60 points and a seven-points buffer over nearest rivals Red Bull Racing who are second on 53 points, while McLaren F1 Team are a further 19 points behind the Silver Arrows in third place on 41 points.
You can see the full Formula 1 World Driver’s (Top 10) and Constructor’s Championship standings at the link: 2021 F1 World Championship Standings
F1 Quick Fire News
- On Monday, Formula 1 announced it would debut the Qualifying Sprint format at three Grands Prix this season. The deal was reached between the sport’s governing body, the FIA, Formula 1 and all ten teams – with two European circuits and one non-European track set to host the format, with those venues to be announced soon. Sprint Qualifying will see drivers fight in a 100km race distance on Saturday afternoons of the selected Grand Prix weekends, with the result of Sprint Qualifying deciding the grid for Sunday’s full distance Grand Prix. The new format will see the grid set for Saturday’s Sprint Qualifying decided on Friday afternoon following the current qualifying format, with cars going into Parc Ferme restrictions from the beginning of Friday qualifying – where there will be one 60-minute practice session on both Friday and Saturday mornings. It has also been decided that the top three finishers in the Sprint Qualifying will receive points – Three for first place, two for second and one for third. “We are excited by this new opportunity that will bring our fans an even more engaging race weekend in 2021,” explained Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali. “Seeing the drivers battling it out over three days will be an amazing experience and I am sure the drivers will relish the fight. I am delighted that all the teams supported this plan, and it is a testament to our united efforts to continue to engage our fans in new ways while ensuring we remain committed to the heritage and meritocracy of our sport.” Domenicali concluded.
- Formula 1 announced on Saturday that the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix will remain at Suzuka International Racing Course for another three years. The iconic Suzuka track, which is located 50 kilometres south west of Nagoya, Japan’s third largest city, is a true favourite amongst the drivers, teams and fans alike, and has seen some of the most spectacular moments in Grand Prix history. The famous figure-of-eight circuit has regularly appeared on the FIA Formula One World Championship calendar since it first held the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix in 1987, with no less than 11 Drivers’ Championships decided there since. The agreed deal, a result of the successful partnership between Formula 1 and promoter Mobilityland, is part of the Formula One’s long-term strategy to grow the sport in Asia. Japan has a passionate fanbase, and with Scuderia AlphaTauri exciting young talent Yuki Tsunoda becoming the first Japanese driver on the F1 grid since Kamui Kobayashi in 2014, the sport will continue to work with the promoter to further increase Formula 1’s popularity there.
- Red Bull Racing announced on Friday that they lured to their all-new engine department, a huge signing in Brian Hodgkinson as Technical Director from World Champions Mercedes. When Honda decided to leave Formula 1 at the end of the 2021 campaign, Red Bull opted to form their own engine department – Red Bull Powertrains – using Honda technology to take them through to the end of 2024 before creating their own power-train for 2025 when the new formula is introduced. Hodgkinson joins the Milton Keynes-based outfit with nearly 20 years of experience with Mercedes, whose power-train has dominated the 1.6L V6 Turbocharged Hybrid era, and where he has flown through the ranks to Head of Mechanical Engineering in their engine department. His start date is yet to be determined, as he fulfils his current Mercedes HPP deal, but when he joins, his main focus will be on Red Bull’s engine plan for 2025. “I’m extremely excited to be joining Red Bull Powertrains as Technical Director,” explained Hodgkinson. “It was not easy to make the decision to leave HPP after almost 20 years but the opportunity to take on such a far-reaching and important project is a great honour. Red Bull is a serious player in Formula 1 and have been our biggest rival in the hybrid era, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together in this new phase of the company’s journey.” Hodgkinson concluded.
- Formula 1 has confirmed a change to round seven on the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar, with the Turkish Grand Prix replacing the Canadian Grand Prix from June 11 to 13. Due to the ongoing international travel restrictions in place in Canada, it became impossible for the sport to enter the country without undertaking a mandatory 14-day quarantine period, leading to the change. A statement from Formula 1 read: “We are grateful for the efforts of the promoter and the authorities in Canada, Quebec and Montreal in the past few weeks to try and make the race happen and we are pleased to announce a two-year extension to our partnership with the Canadian Grand Prix. We will work with the promoter to ensure those with tickets from 2020 & 2021 races get the options of a refund or to transfer their tickets to next year’s race and look forward to racing in Canada in 2022.” Turkey returns to the schedule after a spectacular first event at Istanbul Park in nine years last November, in which saw Lewis Hamilton clinch his seventh World Driver’s Championship crown.
The Formula 1 Heineken Grande Premio De Portugal 2021 race weekend kicks off Friday April 30 with Free Practice 1 and 2, followed by Free Practice 3 and Qualifying Saturday May 1 and the 66 lap Race Sunday May 2.
