[akash_v12]

There is another new track on the calendar! The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Portimao is a modern venue with elevation change baked into its layout. The Ricardo Pena-designed 2.9-mile lap sends drivers swooping up hill and down dale, before culminating in a plunge down to the final right-hander at Galp leading back onto the pit straight – with the double-apex, Acque Minerali-evoking Portimao corner a particular highlight.
Pirelli has chosen to go with the hardest compounds of the lot, C1,C2 & C3.
They are also going to be testing the thicker 13-inch tyres for the 2021 season.

Stream On - Hotstar
All Times IST

The Schedule


The Circuit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY0lHitdPss

Tyres

[shibujp]

What a circuit! Looking forward to Bottas on pole. He posted a hat trick of fastest times in practice.

Drive on,
Shibu

[tazmaan]

After all the hard work and leading every session Hamilton grabs the pole from Bottas. Bottas accepted that he should have chosen 2 runs like Hamilton but that also meant extra fuel, so he took a call what he felt right only it did not work.

Hamilton pushed the car to its limits to grab the pole under pressure. Both the strategies were a gamble and I feel Bottas selected 1 run only because Hamilton decided to go for 2 runs to keep it different.

Max as usual a champion driver. The top 3 look very tightly packed and tyre wear will play are very important role in outcome for tomorrow.

Ferraris are doing relatively better after the update.

Good track and there are corners where drivers cannot see what is beyond.

[Cyborg]

You have to feel for Bottas, although he cannot match Hamilton on a consistent basis. It must be pretty soul destroying for him to top every time sheet from FP1 to Q2 and Hamilton does it again where it counts.

I feel he will always be the bridesmaid where the World Championship is concerned and never the bride.

Cheers

[shibujp]

What a blinder of a circuit! I have been in love with it ever since I saw Chris Harris run a Manthey racing GT2 on it. Wonderful undulating circuit with some blind crests.

Originally Posted by Cyborg

You have to feel for Bottas, although he cannot match Hamilton on a consistent basis. It must be pretty soul destroying for him to top every time sheet from FP1 to Q2 and Hamilton does it again where it counts.

I kind of feel he has a new confidence for the past few races. Even in the German GP he was pretty racy till his engine gave up on him. Plus it is evident that he picked the wrong strategy so ideally there is a good reason why he did not win pole.

I was surprised by Vettel's performance though. Seeing him 8th in Q1 I thought he would make it to Q3. But it all fell through in Q2 and he posted a time that was 15th best only. Slower than Russell!

The circuit itself seems to have a surfacing that makes it hard to build up enough heat in the tyres after a single lap. Quite a few drivers were seen doing an extra flying lap to build temperatures into the tyres.

Mercedes do have an interesting strategy option as they along with Ferrari are the only teams starting on mediums.

Post safety car restarts may be interesting.
Drive on,
Shibu.

[Red Liner]

I think out of the bunch, only leclerc is star material. He has a dump of a car and he still put it on p4!

That kid deserves way better!

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by shibujp

I kind of feel he has a new confidence for the past few races. Even in the German GP he was pretty racy till his engine gave up on him. Plus it is evident that he picked the wrong strategy so ideally there is a good reason why he did not win pole.

I was surprised by Vettel's performance though. Seeing him 8th in Q1 I thought he would make it to Q3. But it all fell through in Q2 and he posted a time that was 15th best only. Slower than Russell.

Agree, his demeanour did indicate a more feisty attitude in the last couple of races. He lacks consistency which is the hallmark of a champion though. Even before his engine gave up he was passed by Hamilton due to a lockup, which is a driver error again. Picking the wrong strategy is again a reflection of his own error in judgement, as the team gave both of them the same option. All these errors end up in the points deficit and show he is no match for Hamilton overall.

I always get the feeling that there is a lot unsaid between Ferrari and Vettel which is one of Vettel’s stumbling blocks. As he has demonstrated in the past, he performs only when his head is screwed on right and with negative vibes his performance suffers. It’s a hole he just can’t get himself out of as I am sure he would love to perform and show Ferrari a different finger before he departs at the end of the year.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

I think out of the bunch, only leclerc is star material. He has a dump of a car and he still put it on p4!
That kid deserves way better!

Leclerc is superb and if his time in F1 is taken into consideration, he is excellent. Ferrari will come good again in the new F1 era (hopefully), its cyclical, when one team dominates, it crushes everyone else as we have seen in the past.

Look at it from a different perspective friend . In fact the current circumstances are better in building his reputation even more so than with a great car. Here he is putting his car where everyone doesn’t think it deserves to be and is regularly destroying a four time world champion.

It’s super Sunday again, Moto GP and F1, let’s hope for an entertaining evening.

Cheers

[fz_rider]

Another masterclass by reigning world champion. Another record broken, another record created. Similar faces on podium. Bottas is almost there in qualifying, but his race pace isn't that good.
Only other standout performance was from Leclerc, he's managing the tyres beautifully.
Its a beautiful track and should remain on the calendar. Mugello too bought some action, these old school tracks should remain on calendar, and replace those boring Tilke tracks.

[mayankk]

What a day. The gap between Hamilton and bottas was evident today, the difference seen in when bottas was leading Lewis, and when Lewis got past. What a drive by the champ, and what a record shattered!
The montage of each of the 92 wins was brilliant, that it's been more than a decade since the late night (ist)
win in Brazil!
Just amazing!!

[motorworks]

I think this track is brilliant! Its nothing like the new boring tracks designed by Tilke and the likes! Superb flowing corners, rapid elevation changes, and more importantly the track punishes those who go off the track! I really wish the FIA retain this track in the coming years.

With regard to the race, the man of the moment is Lewis Hamilton, eclipsing the record set by Schumacher and he will most probably end up at a number that would be extremely hard for anyone to beat. Im not a Mercedes nor a Hamilton fan, but having watched F1 for the last 15-17 years, I can safely say that Hamilton is one of the best that formula one has seen. He has had massive help from that unbeatable Mercedes car, but so have his team mates like Rosberg and Bottas, but neither of them could really take the fight to him. Its a shame that Bottas does not even offer half the fight that Rosberg did. I feel Mercedes are missing a trick in not trying out someone like Russell. Surely, there is no risk there, the worst Russell can do is probably be slower than Bottas, but he might spring a surprise.

Anyway, the clear best of the rest apart from the top 3 was Leclerc. He lost few places at the start due to the yellow tyre not warming up soon, he slid around a bit, but kept himself calm and composed, and came back in the race very well.

Among the others, I was really surprised as to how Ocon came back from a late pit stop to be ahead of Ricciardo, but just did not pull away to challenge Perez and Sainz. Ricciardo is making Ocon look ordinary! I say this again, apart from Hamilton and Max, the next big talents in the grid are Ricciardo and Leclerc. Give them the right car and you will see them challenge even Lewis and Max.

[shibujp]

What a great achievement from Lewis. Definitely a GOAT with much more to come. That said I think for me the driver in the silver team was Bottas. With the team solidly behind Lewis in more ways than one, he is facing an uphill battle. 2018/2019 Lewis titles were definitely helped by Bottas obligingly moving aside for Lewis. Come 2020 and Bottas asks for an opposite strategy and the answer is "policy." Which means Bottas just ends up driving harder and eating his engine, tyres etc. It's Massa all over again but then I guess it's the price of being a number two driver in the best car.

The start was stunning and I think a fitting argument for a reverse grid if any. Sainz was driving the stuff of dreams for a few laps till the mediums heated up and the race pace came back to the leaders. Bottas pass of Lewis was just great and reflects his willingness to take the fight to Lewis since the past few races.

Great recovery by Perez to get back from dead last after being spun out by Verstappen. Another driver who deserves a drive next year.

Is Ferrari holding back updates on Vettel's car or is it simply a case of the cars handling characteristics more suiting Leclerc's driving style? You wouldn't want a driver going to a rival team have too much of knowledge of new improvements and updates.

Gasly just like Vettel is an example on how the right team can extract maximum out of the driver. Excellent drive today and Albon is continually being eclipsed by Gasly. Red Bull is said to have an interest in Perez.

The grips levels or the lack of, the gusty winds and the undulating circuit made for a great venue. Even after pits stops the Mercedes cars took a couple of laps to get into their stride. They were fitted with hards which initially looked a error but towards the end proved their worth. The softs would not have lasted the distance in terms of grip.

A sterling drive by Leclerc. Ferrari updates have certainly made the car faster but he did real good to put the car up on P4.

Originally Posted by Cyborg

I always get the feeling that there is a lot unsaid between Ferrari and Vettel which is one of Vettel’s stumbling blocks. As he has demonstrated in the past, he performs only when his head is screwed on right and with negative vibes his performance suffers. It’s a hole he just can’t get himself out of as I am sure he would love to perform and show Ferrari a different finger before he departs at the end of the year.

He is already showing Ferrari the finger. Today's drive looked like he ensured he would not go beyond 10th place. All drivers need a good mental space to perform. Nico Rosberg was able to unhinge Lewis in this respect

Drive on,
Shibu

[Dippy]

Cant' help but say that I am a little saddened that Michael's win record has been surpassed. And is this is Lewis' form next year as well, the championships record will also be broken. But as they say records are mean to be broken. Im not a Hamilton fan, but cant take away anything from the man for what he has achieved. Yes a lot of that credit also goes to Mercedes for building that invincible car.

Never thought about what he would go on to achieve when I met him in Mumbai in 2012. This book below which he signed for me just became priceless after yesterday I guess

[amoghchaphalkar]

12 posts and no mention of Kimi? That is unfair

P16 tp P6 on the opening lap! What a phenomenal driver he is. And Kimi being Kimi, downplayed the entire incident in his typical style

I don’t think the start itself was very good – I lost a place – but then after that honestly I thought at one point ‘what are the others doing? he said.

Full article: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/a...HmE4whoL4.html

[rst89]

I am following F1 more since Covid 19 and following all the races.

In the Portugal GP, Lewis has established himself as the GOAT.
Bottas is making too many mistakes and no wonder Rosberg was a great competitor for Hamilton. The pressure took toll on Rosberg and he retired after winning the championship while Lewis is still gunning down championships.

The only threat Mercedes had was in 2018 against Ferrari. Vettels crash in German GP in 2018 has seen him going downhill.

2019 was a cheat year for Ferrari as they had some engine modifications which FIA told them to remove and you can see the results in 2020 for Ferrari.

In Portugal GP, the first two laps created some excitement but after few laps, Lewis showed his true character, ruthlessly put Bottas behind him.

Bottas got the same car, sometimes there are strategy mistakes while at other instances, he makes mistakes, like late reaction time at start or locking up and making mistakes in last Eifel GP.

[drmohitg]

Why was Bottas denied his tyre choice towards the end? I didn't understand that rule when they said that since Hamilton is already on the hard compound, hence he too has to go for those and not the soft compound as he wanted.