[akash_v12]

F1 returns to Portimao for a 2nd year in the running. I love the track due to the varying elevation throughout the track which makes for great viewing.

Hamilton won his ninety-second Grand Prix, passing Michael Schumacher’s total tally. Teammate Bottas finished with second with Verstappen claiming the final podium place in third.

The race got off to a chaotic start as those that started on soft tyres seemed to have the upper hand. Polesitter Hamilton fell down to third on the first lap as he struggled to warm up his medium compounds. Sergio Pérez and Verstappen collided, forcing the former to pit so early in the race.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was able to get himself into the lead after just two laps. Hamilton’s tyres got into the groove come lap 6 and was able to charge to reclaim first. Bottas overtook Sainz. to claim the lead with Hamilton not too far behind him in second.

Hamilton was able to reclaim the lead on Lap 20 and never looked back, crossing the finish line over 25 seconds ahead of Bottas.

The Schedule



The Circuit






The Tyres





2021 Standings




2020 Results

[RM Motorsports]

India broadcast schedule. Unfortunately no Qualifying & Race in HD on Star Sports

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by RM Motorsports

Unfortunately no Qualifying & Race in HD on Star Sports

Star Sports 2 HD is showing both the qualifying and race. I know because I just set them both for recording on my Tata Sky STB.

https://www.startv.com/tv-guide/

[Tojo_GotBhp]

Interesting data from the Portugal FP2 session yesterday.



-> Looks like Vettel is not up to grips with the AMR21 in qualifying runs, but looks positive in race simulation. About 3 tenths up on Stroll on race pace in the mediums and has a consistent 1.24 runs.
-> Alpine looks to have made a huge improvement from Imola, both the cars into top 10 in FP2 with Alonso and Ocon happy with how the car is behaving!

Don't read much into these data. It is only a practice session!

Source

[sgiitk]

I find P3 is not covered live. At least of the Star TV network (HD) Only a canned version morning.

Grateful for small mercies.

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I find P3 is not covered live. At least of the Star TV network (HD) Only a canned version morning.

Grateful for small mercies.

Sir, you can always watch f1 races and qualifying on Hotstar. It starts 5 minutes before the actual start.

[shibujp]

Not much chance of rain tommorrow. However it is predicted to be slightly more windy which has been affecting cars in FP1 and FP2. Rain would be wicked!



Hamilton looks to have the measure of the Bull in free practice. Though as last week's race proved the Bulls have sorted out their launch issues which helped Verstappen beat Hamilton into Turn 1 from P3.

Honda sort out launch control thanks to their struggle in the Turkish GP last year.

The biggest surprise has to be Alpine. Remains to be seen whether they can maintain the advantage into qualifying.

Portimao is one of my favourite circuits especially the blind approach to the crest of the hill after Turn 8.

Drive on,
Shibu

[shibujp]

Russell and Norris - what a couple of fine racers. Easily two of the best all round young drivers on the grid. Russell put that Williams on P11 just missing Q3 by a whisker and Norris outshone Riccardo to nail P7. Talking about outshining team mates Ocon outqualified Alonso again.

Thankfully the stewards are enforcing track limits with greater consistency now and the unfortunate fall out was Verstappen who have a potentila pole lap deleted for exceeding track limits. Between FP1 and FP3 over 100 such incidents were penalised which shows the advantage that good drivers with leading cars could gain.

Lewis nailed it in Q2 and looked very comfortable but it was Bottas who nailed pole on medium tyres. The Red Bulls are on second row and start on softs. Strategy should be interesting.

Vettel will be relieved and I feel happy for him finally getting into Q3 and P10 after a tough couple of seasons where he was simply made to feel unwelcome in Ferrari. It is intesesting too as it was his team mate who had the development updates. Hope he can keep the form through into the race.

Ferrari, Alpine and McLaren look quite well matched and should promise a tough fight in the middle of the pack this season. Where Alpha Tauri and Aston MArtin stack up, I am not quite sure yet but if they step it up, I am sure it will be a spicy five way tussle.

Ferrari and Mclaren look strong to pick up some podiums too if the two leaders drop the ball at some point. Funnily both F1 and WRC in Corona time are providing belters of seasons.

Drive on,
Shibu

[KPR]

Two best teams occupying top 4. Quite satisfying to see Checo delivering one of the top positions that Albon was struggling to give. Let's see if he can convert that into a podium.

[Torquefreak]

Race looks set to be a tough fight for the top 2 constructors.
Disappointing Q3 for Verstappen though, on the other hand Checo seems to have gotten to gross with the RB machine.
The silence in Merc paddock after Bottas took Pole! It's so sad that he's still treated this way, he is VERY talented and it shows.
Also good to see Vettel back in the top 10 and going up till Q3.
Hoping for another first corner madness from Verstappen like last time!

[ZenMaster]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I find P3 is not covered live. At least of the Star TV network (HD) Only a canned version morning.

Grateful for small mercies.

Sir, I used to watch F1 on Star network channels too through Jio TV. But because everything is insignificant in front of IPL and Premier league, they are alright with skipping F1 and other sports and keep shifting the channels on which its aired too.

I recently bought Hotsar VIP subscription so that I can watch F1 properly. AT Rs.399 for a whole year, I think its reasonable for what it offers. (That's ~Rs18 per race if you use it only for F1). I found worth the money

You can watch all the sessions live. You can also access the recorded version until the next race, after which it will be replaced by that race's content. So you can watch it anytime if you miss the qualifying/race or any of the practice sessions.

Its not FullHD though.

[Akshay6988]

So the usual Ham - Ver - Bot returns. Dread it, run from it, the same result still arrives. Good to see Alonso and Ocon score points ! What is the issue at Haas though they're terribly slow. Looking forward to spanish GP now.

[turbo]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

So I was wrong. Sprint qualifying didn't make any difference to the usual Ham - Ver - Bot.

There was no sprint qualifying this weekend.

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by turbo

There was no sprint qualifying this weekend.

Thanks for correcting. I missed out on qualifying

[shibujp]

Usual script. Bottas takes pole. Hamilton overtakes and wins the race! Well in between that we get some pretty close calls and racing.

For once Bottas did not botch his start and actually managed to catch Lewis napping on the restart after the safety car which also gave Verstappen a chance to overhaul Hamilton.

The Red Bulls did not look as comfortable around the circuit as the Mercs. Just one mistake from Verstappen and Hamilton had it in the bag.

Verstappen almost had the fastest lap in the last lap but eventually it was deleted for exceeding track limits.

Lando Norris is getting to be quite the regular in the top 5 at least. His pass on Ocon was excellent. Ocon incidently finished in seventh one place ahead of Alonso who along with Riccardo staged a good recovery drive to finish in the points. The Alpines look strong this season. Both the Alpines and the McLarens finished in the points which will not be comforting to Ferrari who had only Leclerc in the points. More work for the Reds.

Mick Schumacher was impressive passing Latifi in what is essential a car that is not being developed any more. Mazepin was did-not-spin today but managed to give Perez a mighty fright as he was being lapped.

The Aston Martins had an off day with both out of the points but Vettel finishing ahead of his team mate today.

Drive on,
Shibu