For the first time in F1 history, the Algrave International Circuit played host to the FORMULA 1 HEINEKEN PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX 2020. It was the first time that the Portuguese Grand Prix was on the F1 calendar since 1996. Lewis Hamilton took his 92nd career victory after a dominant drive in a race that got off to a rocky start thanks to some light rain, besting Michael Schumacher’s record.
It was a chaotic start, as rain in the first sector of the circuit made the newly resurfaced track a little slippery. Lewis Hamilton had a strong start from pole position. Max Verstappen also had a quick start from third on the grid, overtaking Valtteri Bottas before the first corner. The Finn took back his position in turn 3 by forcing Verstappen out wide around the outside.
Verstappen was compromised into the uphill turn 4 and wasn’t able to make the corner tight enough. He made contact with the of Sergio Perez, spinning the pink Racing Point around. The stewards noted the incident, but decided that no investigation was necessary.
At the front, struggling for grip, Hamilton lost the lead to his teammate and then Carlos Sainz. Sainz took the lead on the second lap and quickly pulled away outside of the DRS range of Bottas.
Sainz’s lead was short-lived as the McLaren driver’s soft compound tyres began to fade away. This left him vulnerable to the medium runners behind. Bottas retook the lead of the race on lap 6, as Sainz fell through the field to P5.
Things became more orderly in the race, as the light rain that greeted the drivers at the start of the race appeared to disappear.
Having already had Perez spin on the opening lap, there was more bad news for the team when Lance Stroll collided with Lando Norris on lap 18. Stroll had a huge run on Norris down the main straight thanks to the DRS. He dove to the left side of the McLaren on the kerbs into the first corner. He turned into the apex in the first corner, but the Canadian was not clear of Norris. Stroll spun into the runoff around on the outside of the turn.
Both cars were damaged and both required a pit stop that dropped them to the back of the field. The stewards looked at the incident, handing Stroll a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.
Back at the front of the field, Hamilton was able to get by his teammate down the main straight with the assistance of the DRS. This put him into the lead of the race and on track to become Formula One’s winningest driver in history, besting Michael Schumacher.
Verstappen was the first of the top drivers to pit for new tyres, trading in his pair of soft tyres for a new set of mediums on lap 24. Leclerc pitted next, ten laps later. He ditched his mediums for a set of new hard tyres.
Stroll’s day went from bad to worse, as the stewards awarded him another five-second time penalty, this time for exceeding track limits. This brought his penalty total up to 10-seconds, which he served a few laps later during his pit stop.
Hamilton was the first of the Mercedes cards to pit, having built up a 10 second gap to his teammate and a gap of nearly a minute to the rest of the field. He dove into the pit lane for a set of hard tyres on lap 41.
Bottas reacted, pitting the following lap. He had requested a set of soft compound tyres, but the team went against his request and bolted on a set of hards. He was released from the pit lane into some lapped traffic, slowing him into the first sector and he appeared to struggle for grip on a colder set of tyres.
With most of the drivers comfortably spread out, it was a pretty straight forward closing third of the race.
Pierre Gasly and Sergio Perez made sure to keep the fans entertained, fighting for P5 in the final laps. Gasly finally got by Perez around the outside of the first corner on the penultimate lap, having almost rear-ended Perez the previous lap after a late block by the Mexican.
Carlos Sainz was able to pick up P6 from Perez at the start of the final lap with the DRS down the main straight. Perez finished the race in P7, which was a strong recovery after a spin on the opening lap.
But all eyes were on Lewis Hamilton, who picked up his 92nd career win to beat Michael Schumacher’s record for most F1 career victories. He also comes one step closer to securing his 7th World Drivers’ Championship title, increasing his lead to 77 points over his teammate Valtteri Bottas. Max Verstappen took the bottom step on the podium in a distance P3.
With just five races remaining in the season, only 3 drivers are on a position to take the World Drivers’ Championship: Hamilton, Bottas, and Verstappen. Mercedes was not able to secure the World Constructors’ Championship title in Portugal, but with a massive lead over Red Bull (the only other team mathematically able to win) the title will likely be secured at the next race.
The teams and drivers will be heading to Imola next weekend on November 1.
Above results table does not include any post-race penalties
