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September 22, 1996. Jacques Villeneuve won at Estoril, ahead of Damon Hill, his Williams-Renault teammate, and Michael Schumacher, who finished on the podium. Portuguese Pedro Lamy, at the service of Minardi-Ford, finished the race in 16th place, the last of all those who finished the stage after four withdrawals (Häkkinen, Verstappen, Pedro Diniz and Barrichello). Villeneuve’s victory in the penultimate race of the year ensured that the title fight between the Canadian and Hill would drag on until the final week of the World Cup, the following Sunday, in Japan. It was the last time a Formula 1 Grand Prix was held in Portugal.
Until this Sunday. 24 years after Villeneuve’s victory in Estoril, the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve hosted the twelfth stage of a World Championship that had to be rethought and reconverted and found asylum, among other places, in Portimão. With around 27,500 people in the stands, the Autodromo was home to national and international fans and became the new home of Formula 1 in Portugal, a different circuit, differentiated, challenging and unlike all the others. “The track was completely re-paved. It’s a fun track and these are the fastest cars in F1. I am very curious to see them race (…) Formula 1 is very happy, they are very happy to come to Portugal. They are very happy with the reaction of people around the world, our race is the most sought after in the entire World Cup, they anticipate that we will be the most watched race on television this year. Everything is in our favor. They really like the circuit, they say that the region is very beautiful, they say that the Portuguese are fantastic, that they are very friendly, ”explained Paulo Pereira, administrator of the Autodromo, to Rádio Observador.
[Ouça aqui o podcast Grelha de Partida da Rádio Observador:]
Formula 1 in Portimão. “The pilots will love it”
After a tough and unexpected qualifying, with Lewis Hamilton taking the pole position In the last effort after Valtteri Bottas dominated practically every practice, the weather forecasts pointed to the possibility of rain during the race – in addition to the wind that has been felt in the Algarve since the early hours of the morning. And the English driver anticipated precisely that hypothesis, having already said that this Portuguese circuit is “one of the most challenging” where he has competed.
“I think it will be a very difficult race, especially when you have the hardest tire. Actually, it doesn’t work for several laps. It will be interesting at first. Obviously we lost a bit of performance to those behind the soft tires, especially the Max. [Verstappen]. We really don’t know what to expect. It is also supposed to rain. That means it will be the hardest day for everyone if it rains on the go. With wind and a wet track, that would be ice, if we have it. I think we have to prepare for all scenarios. If it’s dry, restarting will be really difficult on the tires, at the speed at which safe car Come on. Yes, it will be a difficult race, that’s true, since we’ve never been here ”, explained the Mercedes driver, who this Sunday could reach 92 victories in Formula 1 and become the most victorious in history, surpassing previous record of Schumacher.
The three problems of a Saturday that was a lesson for Sunday: traffic, bad luck on the track and the absence of the necessary distance
The first laps of the Portuguese Grand Prix showed the potential of the Algarve circuit. Hamilton did well and took the lead at the first corner, Bottas and Sainz also got off to a good start and Verstappen and Pérez were involved in an incident that immediately made Racing Point’s race very difficult. A few seconds later, Bottas pressed with Hamilton and managed to steal the first position from the teammate, who even fell to third thanks to the effort of Carlos Sainz. The Spanish McLaren surprised and on the second lap he beat the second Mercedes, placing himself at the front of the race.
Sainz’s moment of glory, however, lasted only a few laps. The Spaniard only held the lead for a few minutes, being again overtaken by Bottas and Hamilton and later by Verstappen and Gasly. Later, the Finn was leader of the Portuguese Grand Prix until lap 20, when Hamilton attacked and recovered his pole position lost in the exit meters. Further back, Lance Stroll tried to beat Lando Norris but ended up hitting McLaren, without avoiding a spin that threw him to the tail of the peloton.
ROUND 6/66
Bottas jumps into Turn 1, passes Sainz and takes the lead. #PortugueseGP ???????? # F1 pic.twitter.com/Xpe6fjRTnF
– Formula 1 (@ F1) October 25, 2020
In the middle, the surprise was to be Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque, who was already in the classification above what Ferrari has been doing this season, when starting from fourth place, did not lose space between the forwards and on lap 27 he was already third, taking advantage of the first trip in boxes the Verstappen. At that time, the extraordinary recovery of Sergio Pérez was the protagonist: after the incident of the first round, which forced him to enter an embryonic state pit stopThe Mexican from Racing Point arrived on lap 20 in an incredible sixth position just over a second behind Esteban Ocon’s Renault. The fight for fifth place turned out to be one of the most exciting of the race, with the two drivers competing side by side for the position, in a huge display of quality that ended up falling next to the Mexican.
The two Mercedes came to a halt on lap 40, both to switch from medium to hard tires, and Hamilton pushed ahead with a comfortable lead. The Englishman completed the fastest lap soon after, shortly after changing tires, and the Finn lost some time to Verstappen, although never enough for the Dutchman to even dream of second place. Further back Leclerc didn’t even get a chance to fight for the podium again, Lance Stroll ended up giving up and the most interesting race in the final leg of the race was really the battle for points, with Raikkonen and Vettel, two Formula 1 historians, competing for 10th place.
In the end, Lewis Hamilton won without major problems, Valtteri Bottas was second and Max Verstappen finished on the podium. Charles Leclerc achieved a positive fourth place for Ferrari, while Sergio Pérez finished the impressive climb in seventh place in the standings, behind Gasly and Sainz and ahead of Ocon and Ricciardo. In last place with access to points, Vettel was stronger than Raikonnen and finished 10th. Hamilton achieved his 92nd career victory, officially surpassed the record that belonged to Michael Schumacher and is now the most successful driver in Formula 1: he won, made history and put Portugal in history. 24 years later, Portugal was once again the center of attention in motorsports through the biggest door.
Story maker #PortugueseGP ???????? # F1 pic.twitter.com/kKkvJ0e5BE
– Formula 1 (@ F1) October 25, 2020
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