The twelfth race of the 2020 Formula One season took place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. The race is covered here by our F1 correspondent Nick van der Meulen in his report F1 Review Portuguese GP 2020.

The Portuguese Grand Prix returns to the F1 calendar for the first time since 1996, when Jacques Villeneuve took victory at Estoril in his rookie season. That race, in particular, is remembered as a result of Villeneuve famously passing Michael Schumacher around the outside at the most challenging corner on the track. This time, the event was held in the picturesque Algarve region at the circuit of Portimao. Portimao is usually utilised for international motorcycle racing, but the circuit is receiving its fair share of exposure in four-wheel racing, with F1 being hosted this weekend and a European Le Mans Series event (probably featuring Capetonian hero David Perel) next weekend. It is a winding, challenging circuit, with some off-camber corners. The circuit was resurfaced recently, with drivers complaining from lack of grip.

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Cloudy with a chance of graining

The race dawned cloudy and cool, with some drops of rain, but the circuit remaining dry, albeit greasy. It got interesting when the lights went out to start the race, as the racers running with medium-compound tyres struggled to get them at running temperature and Carlos Sainz (McLaren-Renault, running on “softs”) surged into the lead, with Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo) charging into sixth place in the early stages. The medium-compound runners soon regained the advantage, however. The soft compound runners started complaining of grip issues with the front left tyre, however, it wasn’t long before the medium runners were reporting the same issue.

92 and counting

Mercedes dominated proceedings, for the umpteenth time, with Lewis Hamilton surging past teammate Valtteri Bottas on the 20th lap to romp to the 92nd F1 victory of his illustrious career – an all-time record. Despite his best efforts, Bottas finished a lonely second and Hamilton surely has one hand on the championship trophy towards his seventh world title.

Sergio Perez (Racing Point-Mercedes) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing-Honda) tangled on first lap of the race, resulting in Perez spinning out of contention. While the Dutchman tagged the Mexican just in front of his rear wheel, Perez was swooping around the outside for position. As a result, Verstappen escaped being penalised. Verstappen continued running his strong pace to finish third, while Perez carved his way through the field to finish seventh. The Mexican blotted his copybook in the closing stages of the race when he drifted across the circuit in the attempt to keep Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri-Honda) at bay.

Why Alex, why?

Again, Red Bull Racing second driver Alexander Albon had a disastrous race, finishing outside the points after having qualified comfortably in the top ten. The pressure is building on the Thai racer, as well as the team, with regard to him securing the Red Bull seat for 2021. Pierre Gasly, in the sister Alpha Tauri squad, has shown again that he is deserving of the seat after finishing fifth, but it appears that Red Bull management do not want that to happen. They have been particularly miffed to discover that the Frenchman is having discussions with Renault, in the hope of securing the seat currently occupied by Esteban Ocon. Ocon, while not been scintillating this season, had a strong drive on race day. He ran in the top five for much of the race, before having to stop late for tyres and finishing eighth. He still managed to finish ahead of teammate Daniel Ricciardo (ninth), which will give him some bargaining power with team management when it comes to negotiations for next season.

Charles in charge

Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) again showed his mettle, easily outperforming teammate Sebastian Vettel in qualifying, as well as the race. The Monegasque had a slow start on medium rubber, but then carved his way into third place. He lost out to Verstappen in the pit stops and crossed the finish line a strong fourth. Vettel, having a torrid season, tried valiantly to put in a good performance from 16th on the grid, passing Raikkonen for the final points-scoring position with two laps remaining.

Raikkonen showed great spirit on race day. After his initial charge into sixth place at the start, he was unhappy with his tyres and pitted early, falling to the tail of the field. He responded by charging from back of the field back into top ten and not giving up when fighting for a points-paying position with Sainz. Once again, the Finn showed tenacity at the tender age of 41. He lost his scoring opportunity with 11 laps to go, however, when Vettel passed him to claim the last point.

Colouring inside the lines

Track limits was an issue at this circuit, with much run-off area and drivers pushing boundaries to see how much they could get away with. Lance Stroll (Racing Point-Mercedes) received a warning early in the race for exceeding limits. He later tried to pass Lando Norris (McLaren-Renault) around the outside, the two drivers making contact and the Englishman expressing his displeasure loudly over the radio. Both machines sustained damage, resulting in both drivers pitting. Stroll was found to be the guilty party and penalised five seconds for his actions. He and his father are both also in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, having both contracted Covid-19 and failing to follow FIA protocols. They are expected to receive warnings from the governing body for their actions.

The next round of the F1 world championship takes place in one week, at the legendary Autodromo Dino e Enzo Ferrari – also known as Imola – for the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna. It has sweeping curves and slow chicanes, which is particularly hard on the brakes. It will be interesting to see the role this will play in cooler conditions…