By Gustavo Castilho
Portimão Race Course, in the Algarve, receives an F1 race for the first time.
It was 24 years since the Portuguese received the F1. The last time the tires spun in the country was in 1996, in Estoril. Located in the Algarve region, south of Portugal, the Portimão Autodrome will host a Formula 1 race for the first time. There, only two drivers have been on the tracks: Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, both being tested by McLaren, Hamilton in 2009, and Norris in 2017, when he was preparing to enter F1. Another eight drivers have raced at the track but in other categories.
The track is 4,653 meters long and the winner will need to overcome 66 laps. The Portuguese GP is the 12th of the 17 season stages. The circuit was added to the calendar to replace part of the tests canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The race can make history if Lewis Hamilton wins. That’s because the Englishman can become the driver with the highest number of victories in the 70 years of Formula 1 history. In the previous race, when he reached his 91st victory at the Eifel GP in Germany, Hamilton tied with Michael Schumacher. In addition, Mercedes has the first chance to win the constructors’ championship. It would be the seventh time in a row that the team would achieve such a mark, another record in the category. For this to happen, they need to finish with a first and a third place and hope that Red Bull, vice-leader, does not score any points, which is a very difficult task, since Verstappen is in a great phase.
Classification:
1st- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes): 413 points / 11 wins / 17 podiums
2nd – Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) – 326 points / 4 wins / 15 podiums
3rd – Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – 278 points / 3 wins / 9 podiums
4th – Charles. Leclerc (Ferrari) – 264 points / 2 wins / 10 podiums
5th – Sebastian. Vettel (Ferrari) – 240 points / 1 win / 9 podiums
Builders’ classification:
1st – Mercedes: 391 points
2nd – Red Bull / Honda: 211 points
3rd – Racing Point / Mercedes: 120 points
4th – McLaren / Renault: 116 points
5th – Renault: 114 points
6th – Ferrari: 80 points
7th – AlphaTauri / Honda: 67 points
8th – Alfa Romeo / Ferrari: 5 points
