F1 analysis: Four major talking points from the F1 Portuguese GP | GRR
He didn’t have the words to sum up what it meant, but the long hug from his dad said everything that needed to be expressed. Lewis Hamilton had just won his 92nd grand prix to eclipse Michael Schumacher’s record and become the most successful Formula 1 driver we’ve yet seen, and just as he was when his boy first stepped into a kart, proud father Anthony was there to share the moment. This was special, both for the Hamilton family and the whole of F1, especially as the Mercedes ace made history with a suitably emphatic performance at an incident-packed Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao.
Hamilton humiliates Bottas – again
The race winner admitted he was cautious on an opening lap made slippery by light rain, but a combination of soaring confidence and vast experience also told him he wasn’t going to take that 92nd victory in the first minute. So he took it easy, which allowed Valtteri Bottas to make an opportunistic move from the lead as both Mercedes struggled for grip on their medium-compound Pirelli tyres. Carlos Sainz Jr. then shocked everyone by passing them both, having stormed from seventh on the grid in his soft-tyre shod McLaren, but it would prove to be a meaningless red-herring. Once their tyres had come in, Bottas and Hamilton eased back past Sainz – and the Finn appeared to have a golden chance to put one over his team-mate for only the third time this season.
But instead, Bottas would find himself humiliated by Hamilton – hardly for the first time in 2020. The six-time world champion bided his time as the rain held off and performance came to him. Then on lap 20, with DRS making overtaking into Turn 1 a tad too easy, he closed in on his prey and shot into a lead that, inevitably, he would never lose. Bottas looked lost and a little shell-shocked afterwards as he contemplated his latest defeat – by a mammoth 25.592sec. He’s now 77 points down on Hamilton with just five races left to run.
An opener to remember
A red-herring it might have been, but a combination of that light rain on a Portimao circuit that continued to challenge the drivers in new and wonderful ways all weekend resulted in a terrific opening first few minutes to the grand prix. Sainz was magnificent from his perfect launch to rise from the fourth row and lead for five laps. But behind him, 41-year-old Kimi Räikkönen rolled back the years with an even greater rise from 16th on the grid – to run sixth. Ten places! The Iceman was brilliant in those opening laps.
OK, it didn’t last and both Sainz and Räikkönen would fade, the pair finishing sixth and 11th respectively. But motor racing should never just be about results – it’s also about little slices of magic that exceed all hopes and expectations. For both, it was fun while it lasted.
Racing Point: pain, gain… and pain
Ultimately, the Portuguese GP was a missed opportunity for Racing Point. Sergio Perez again made it seem laughable that the team that will soon be Aston Martin is rejecting him, with a strong start from fifth on the grid to challenge Max Verstappen for third. He was unlucky to be tagged into a spin by the Dutchman, who correctly escaped a penalty for what was an unfortunate racing incident. Perez then put in a terrific charge from the back to return to fifth behind Charles Leclerc, who was once again excellent for Ferrari.
Perez versus the long-running Esteban Ocon was one of the highlights of a race not short of close action, the pair running side by side for pretty much half a lap before the Renault was forced to cede. But late in the race, on the soft tyre that never really worked on this circuit, Perez found himself a sitting duck as the accomplished Pierre Gasly loomed in his AlphaTauri. Perez was aggressive in his defence – too much so, receiving a reprimand that leaves him just one more away from a race ban – but was powerless to stop the Frenchman a lap later. Then as they started the last lap, Sainz swept past too with an easy DRS move. So seventh place for the Mexican. Having started fifth, he couldn’t be happy with that.
But he sure had a far better race than team-mate Lance Stroll. The Canadian only started 12th, rose up the order and then challenged Lando Norris with a slightly out-of-control move at Turn 1 that resulted in contact that damaged both cars. Norris was forced to pit and finished a frustrated 13th, while Stroll was handed not one, but two five-second penalties – the first for causing this collision, then second for exceeding track limits. Racing Point then pulled him in to retire. In all, less than impressive from the boss’s son.
Good day for the French... and Monegasque
Gasly’s drive to fifth was one of the best of the day, while Ocon did a great job from 11th on the grid to finish eighth – and beat his team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. The key was a monumental 53-lap opening stint on his long-lasting medium tyres. On the softs, he might have expected to make further progress in the closing stages, but the red-rimmed rubber didn’t quite give him the pace to mix it with Gasly, Sainz and Perez.
Sebastian Vettel claimed the final point in 10th, from 15th on the grid – but in the wake of Leclerc’s ‘different class’ performance, his enthusiasm for his decent drive could only go so far. Creating hints of doubt about Ferrari equality, vigorously batted away from the team, is what he is now reduced to.
Behind Räikkönen in 12th place was an anonymous Alexander Albon. Christian Horner has made it clear the second Red Bull seat is the Thai’s to lose for 2021. In performances like this one, that’s exactly what he appears to be doing.
Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.