The 2020 F1 season takes another interesting step into the unknown this weekend with the first Portuguese Grand Prix for 24 years taking place at the Portimao circuit in the Algarve.
The new-look section of the calendar began with last month’s trip to Mugello for the Tuscan Grand Prix and continued with the first visit to the Nurburgring for seven years last time out. The trip to Portugal will be followed by two more returning tracks at Imola and Istanbul.
Portimao has hosted GP2, endurance racing and Superbikes events as well as being used as an F1 test track. It is notable for some extreme elevation changes and a number of blind entries to corners.
Hamilton Aiming to Surpass Schumacher
After equalling Michael Schumacher’s all-time record with his 91st F1 victory at the Eifel Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton is 20/49 to register win number 92 in Portugal.
Hamilton has won seven of this year’s 11 races with team-mate Valtteri Bottas taking two and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and Pierre Gasly (Alpha Tauri) winning one each.
The British driver leads Bottas by a hefty 69 points with only six races left and must be confident that a seventh title is within reach.
It was noticeable that the Finn got to grips with the new track at Mugello faster than Hamilton last month, topping the times in all three practice sessions, but the world champion was in front when it mattered in qualifying and the race.
Red Bulls on the March
Punters should expect Red Bull to continue to challenge Mercedes in the remaining races this season, as the German team have clearly already switched their focus to their 2021 cars with this year’s honours almost in the bag already.
The Anglo-Austrian outfit, however, are still developing their 2020 car and Max Verstappen has been third, second and third in qualifying at the last three races.
The washout of the Friday practices at the Nurburgring meant that the team didn’t have time to fully incorporate their aerodynamic package at the last race and if there is more pace to come, Verstappen should be a real contender for the race victory at 4/1.
Midfield Battle is Getting Intense
Mercedes can clinch the constructors title this weekend and Red Bull are in a world of their own in second place in the team standings, but just six points separates third-placed Racing Point from McLaren and Renault in the battle to be best of the rest.
Renault have been moving through the field in terms of pace at recent races, with Daniel Ricciardo taking third in the Eifel Grand Prix, while Racing Point should have their first-choice driver line-up back after Lance Stroll tested positive for Covid-19 following the illness that forced him to sit out the Nurburgring event.
Verstappen Looks One to Watch
Hamilton looks on good terms with himself as his place among the sport’s greats becomes more assured by the week, but Bottas is equally determined not to be seen as a pushover and he could be out of the blocks quickly again, as he was at Mugello.
Verstappen could be the driver to watch this weekend, though, once Red Bull have their new aero package fully up to speed. The Dutchman has never finished out of the top three this season when completing the race and looks capable of mixing it with the Mercedes pair in Portimao.
*All odds correct at time of writing