Nithyanandam Ramasamy
Portugal, who made its come back last year, will host round-3 of the 2021 Formula 1 season. Algarve international circuit located at Portimao will host its second race in over 6-months.
The circuit, which is known for its undulation, is of length 4.653 km with a race distance of 66 laps. The circuit’s elevation is reminiscent of Spa and has the technicality of Barcelona. The Algarve circuit has two DRS zones this season rather than 1 in 2020. The first DRS zone can be activated in the straight between T4 and T5, and the second DRS zone can be enabled in the start-finish.
This season has already witnessed an anti-climatic race in Bahrain and a dramatic Imola GP. The Third round promises to be another classic as the drivers could face a tricky challenge negotiating the elevations of the circuit. Last year’s race provided a little grip because the surface was new. However, we can expect it to be grippier from the race start this season.
Before we head to the major talking points ahead of the race, here are the stats about the Portuguese GP.
Portuguese GP Stats:
- Portugal has hosted 17 races in 4 different circuits
- Estoril hosted 13-races, Porto 2, Portimao and Monsanto hosted one race each
- Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell are the successful drivers with 3-wins each in Portugal
- Williams are the successful team with 6-wins in Portugal
- Ayrton Senna is the most successful driver in qualifiers. He has registered 3-pole positions in Portugal
- Williams is the most successful team in qualifiers. They have registered 5-pole positions in Portugal
- Only 3-drivers have led laps at Portimao. Lewis Hamilton has led 46-laps, Valtteri Bottas led 16-laps, and Carlos Sainz led 4-laps
- Only Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen, and Charles Leclerc have completed the full race distance of 66-laps in the 2020 Portuguese GP
- The safety car has never made an appearance in the Portuguese GP
- Only 3-occasions where the winners of the Portuguese GP have gone on to win the driver’s championship
Talking Points
Championship Battle:
Red Bull Racing and Mercedes head to the Portuguese GP with one bout each. We have so far seen excellent tyre management and racecraft from Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain and masterclass driver from Max Verstappen at Imola. Mercedes come to Portuguese GP with a slender lead of 7-points in the constructors’ championship, and Lewis Hamilton starts this week as the driver’s championship leader by a point.
The only concern for Mercedes and Red Bull Racing ahead of this weekend? You are spot-on if you have guessed it’s the form of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez. Both Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez had a weekend to forget at Imola. They had a difficult start to the season as Valtteri Bottas hasn’t shown his form yet, and Sergio Perez is still adapting to the new environment. Mercedes and Red Bull Racing would be needing their second drivers to be at their best in Portugal to have any chances of outwitting each other in their strategical battle.
Stats to look forward to from Mercedes and Red Bull Racing:
- Lewis Hamilton will become the first F1 driver to register 100-pole positions if he gets pole position on Saturday qualifying session. He has a chance to achieve this feat on the track where he broke Michael Schumacher’s win record last year
- The 2021 Portuguese GP will be the 500th race for the Mercedes power. Only Ford Cosworth, Renault and Ferrari have more races than them
- Mercedes will equal Williams’ pole position tally of 128 if they register a pole position in Portugal. Mercedes are 4th in the list behind Ferrari, Mclaren and Williams
- Max Verstappen is currently on 11 wins. If he wins in Portugal, he will surpass Rubens Barrichello, Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve in the race winners list
What’s next in Mclaren vs Ferrari?
The battle of the two of the historic teams is something we have been craving for a decade. Guess what? It looks like we will witness it this year. Not for the top spot, but for the best of the rest behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. Mclaren are currently 7-points ahead of Ferrari for 3rd place. The gap between Mclaren, Ferrari and the rest of the midfield is nearly 5-times of their points. It looks more likely that Mclaren and Ferrari will take this battle down the wire.
Lando Norris, who scored 27 points, is on 3rd in the driver’s standings while Charles Leclerc just behind him on 20 points. However, their teammates Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo have scored 14-points from the first two races. Carlos Sainz drove an excellent race despite making a mistake at Imola, as Daniel Ricciardo had a quiet race. It will be fascinating to see their progress with their respective new teams.
Stats to look forward to from Mclaren and Ferrari:
- Carlos Sainz could join Nico Hulkenberg in scoring 400+ points without a race win if he finishes in 3rd place this weekend
- Carlos Sainz has a point-scoring streak of 9-races. The last time he failed to score a point was in the 2020 Russian GP
- Charles Leclerc has finished ahead of his grid position 8-times since the start of the 2020 season
- The 2020 Portuguese GP was the last time Lando Norris failed to finish on points. Can the man in form score some points this weekend?
- Daniel Ricciardo is on a point-scoring streak of 13-races. He has failed to score points in only 3-races since the start of the 2020 season
What's the Pole lap time difference between Moto GP and Formula 1 at Portimao?
Why is it an interesting fact?
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What’s next for Sebastian Vettel and Aston Martin:
It’s been a struggle for Sebastian Vettel since the start of the pre-season. The four-time world champion has failed to score a point in the first two races of this season. It will be interesting to see how long Sebastian Vettel takes to adapt at Aston Martin. With the support of Aston Martin and the experience of Sebastian Vettel, one can expect them to understand each other quickly and score some vital points. Aston Martin will be keeping their fingers crossed in hope of positive performance from Sebastian Vettel in the Portuguese GP.
Stats:
- For the first time since 2008, Sebastian Vettel has failed to score a point after the end of the first 2-rounds of the season
- If Sebastian Vettel scores points at Portimao, he will become only 6th driver to score points in 15 consecutive seasons
Other talking points:
Williams had a disappointing race at Imola with a double DNF after a sensational qualifying session. They would be gutted not to score any points at Imola. However, they have a chance to put things behind and go for it again. Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo would be devastated that their point finish at Imola has been taken away by a penalty. Alfa Romeo and Williams would be determined to push Alpine and Aston Martin for the lower midfield battle.
Other Stats:
- Williams have failed to score a point since the 2019 German GP. A run of 29-races without a point
- If Kimi scores a point at Portimao, he will become only the second driver after Michael Schumacher to have a gap of 20 years between his first and the most recent points scoring Grand Prix
With or without rain, the Portuguese GP has the potential to produce surprises. However, it can disappoint us with yet another classic Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas podium. Jokes aside. The 2021 Portuguese GP shaping up to be yet another dramatic race as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton would make their next move in this year’s championship battle.
