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The spectacular, freshly repaved Portimao race track, coupled with a bit of rain, gave some notable first laps as the drivers struggled to find grip and confidence.
Pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton dropped to a cautious third place, while after a great opening lap, first Carlos Sainz in the McLaren and then Valtteri Bottas in his Mercedes, they took turns leading.
Kimi Raikkonen, from 16th and the ‘dirty’ side of the grid, meanwhile, took 10 places in what was surely one of the best opening laps in F1 history.
A textbook study for budding racing drivers that will last forever, the 41-year-old’s feline reactions were truly impressive.
4:05 Take a look at how Kimi Raikkonen won TEN places in an amazing start at the Portuguese Grand Prix
Hamilton didn’t panic, and when he was ready he took the lead and simply took off to win the race by this year’s longest margin of 25.5 seconds. Along with the fastest lap, he took 26 points to beat Michael Schumacher’s tally with his 92nd victory in the race.
It was a masterful performance on a day when warming up the tires was the challenge and therefore I was able to let the car go to a certain extent, rather than endless tire management.
One of his best albums among many.
A relatively small number of us have had the privilege of racing Formula 1 cars. It is difficult to become an F1 driver and remain so for several seasons. It is a great challenge to score points, podiums, victories and world championships, to stay mentally and physically in good shape. To be aware of increasingly complex technology. To endure blows and disappointments, endure politics, survive accidents, and witness tragedies. To tolerate the most intense lights without ceasing.
What Lewis continues to achieve is a herculean effort and outstanding performance by any metric for any athlete in history, in my opinion.
1:37 Take a look at Lewis Hamilton’s journey to a record 92 victory in the Formula One race
Bottas had dominated all the practice sessions and most of the qualifying down to the segment that mattered most, the top 10 in Q3. At that point, Hamilton decided to refuel and make two attempts on a final banzai lap to steal pole position and demote Bottas to the dirty side of a slippery grid.
Poor guy. If Hamilton weren’t around, he would be a megastar, instead he just has to answer questions about what went wrong. I find it uncomfortable to interview him immediately after a race, looking into his eyes to see a mix of fading adrenaline and disappointment, trying to find the right words to step somewhere in between celebrating another podium as his team defeats him again. partner.
If you’re going to have to fight Hamilton, then it might as well be in the fastest car, but if Lewis re-signs for several years, then Valtteri will surely have to look elsewhere on the grid for his own self-esteem and motivation. .
He asked for different tires than Lewis’s at his only pit stop to at least try something in the final phase. It would have been a mistake, but the team denied it anyway, which must be infuriating.
Max Verstappen once again had to play the best supporting role for the Merc masters despite a contrary tire strategy, and not having the speed in the car to do more than annoy the Merc guys for a while. He also flipped his teammate Alex Albon, who then proceeded to hang onto Max’s tail and match his personal fastest lap of the race, although I suspect Max wasn’t in much of a rush in his lone third place.
Albon has the speed, but he doesn’t have the qualifying delivery or consistent racing skill yet, and he leaves him on very thin ice while the team is effectively fighting with one arm behind their back.
Scrap McLaren / Racing Point / Renault is the battle that continues, now with just six points separating those teams. And Pierre Gasly’s simply tremendous form and speed means he joins AlphaTauri too.
The DRS zone on the pit straight was too powerful and we saw several overtaking in a straight line. Lance Stroll came so fast behind Lando Norris that he had to turn an escape into an overtake on the outside of turn one. In the chaos, he pinched Norris to the top and they touched, the damage to Stroll’s Racing Point ultimately meant he was the only retiree from a chaotic career.
It also ruined Norris’s career, with damage to the front wing, and Stroll received a five-second penalty to which he added another five seconds for track boundary violations before retiring. He’s had a hard time since a considerable drift knocked him out of the Tuscany GP four races ago.
1:41 Lanco Stroll went wheel-to-wheel with Lando Norris in seventh place, but the two made contact during the Portuguese GP
Verstappen spun Sergio Perez on the first lap, which I thought was a bit mischievous on Max’s part, but the Stewards seemed happy enough. Sergio pitted at the end of that first lap and then proceeded to drive wonderfully to fifth before pitting on lap 45 of 66 for a set of soft tires, which didn’t really help much as he dropped to seventh when Gasly and Sainz passed it.
It stayed ahead of the Renault which had a difficult weekend on this surface and design. On this occasion it was Esteban Ocon, who waited until lap 54 to pit in hopes of more rain or a safety car, who finished impressively ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.
Charles Leclerc was outstanding for Ferrari once again, leading his steed home in fourth place, albeit 65 seconds behind Hamilton. Ferrari is definitely making up some ground, although Seb Vettel was only able to put together a tenth lap.
Now he should be counting down the days before heading to new pastures, but he will have to do a much better job than this to avoid the inevitable and potentially unfavorable comparison to the fit Perez whom he is replacing. However, the Racing Point / Aston Martin car (heavily influenced by Mercedes) should suit it better.
I didn’t meet or hear from anyone within F1 who wouldn’t be happy to race in this venue again, although I’m not sure where the promoter’s normal penalty fee would come from. Hope you enjoyed it too. There was a lot of side-by-side action, challenging blind ridges, and more than a few skirmishes.
These new and revised circuits are lighting up our compressed and heavily European-based 17-race calendar. Next weekend is another old school track in Imola that I hope the drivers will love, followed by Istanbul, one of the best of the “new” circuits.
With five races to go and a maximum of 130 points in the table, Hamilton is 77 ahead, just under three GPs in his pocket.
Get ready for more Michael Schumacher comparisons and spirited GOAT arguments very soon now.
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