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Lewis Hamilton dominates Portuguese Grand Prix to break Michael Schumacher's record of most F1 wins

Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates his record breaking 92nd race win on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on October 25, 2020 in Portimao, Portugal - Getty Images Europe /Joe Portlock 
Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates his record breaking 92nd race win on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on October 25, 2020 in Portimao, Portugal - Getty Images Europe /Joe Portlock

Lewis Hamilton has been crowned the most victorious driver in Formula One history following his crushing 92nd career win in Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix.

A fortnight after he drew level with Michael Schumacher in Germany, Hamilton now stands alone in the record books after taking the chequered flag at Portimao 25.5 seconds clear of Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas.

Hamilton is poised to become the sport's most successful driver of all time as early as next month, with a seventh world championship certain to follow this season.

The Englishman's victory here moved him 77 points clear of Bottas with just 130 points to play for. Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished third ahead of the Ferrari driver of Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton said afterwards: "It is going to take some time to fully sink in. I cannot find the words at the moment.

"My dad is here, which is amazing, and my step-mum Linda too and my dog Roscoe so it is a blessed day.

"I could have only ever dreamed of being where I am today. didn't have a magic ball when I came to Mercedes but here I am and as a team we are trying to make the most of it."

The Briton added: "I had cramp in my right calf so I was lifting down the straight because it felt like it was about to pull but I had to get through it."

Hamilton was an 11-year-old boy dominating Britain's karting scene the last time a Formula One grand prix was staged in Portugal in 1996. Little did Hamilton know then, that 24 years later he would break F1's all-time win record - a tally many thought would never be bettered following Schumacher's 91st win at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

For the opening six laps, Hamilton's quest for history appeared in grave danger following a bizarre start to the 12th of 17 rounds under overcast and blustery Algarve skies.

After taking pole on Saturday, Hamilton retained the lead on the downhill gallop to the opening bend, but halfway round the first lap he had fallen to third, passed by Bottas and then McLaren's Carlos Sainz, who started seventh.

A smattering of rain drops and cooler conditions meant Hamilton was off the mark in getting his medium-compound rubber up to speed, and team-mate Bottas, on the same rubber was also struggling.

Indeed, by the end of a frantic first lap - which also saw Verstappen collide with Racing Point's Sergio Perez at the fourth corner - Sainz, starting on the speedier soft tyres, had taken the lead.

The briefest of showers soon abated and normal order started to resume, with Bottas retaking the lead on lap six and Hamilton moving past Sainz to take second on the ensuing lap.

At that stage, Bottas appeared in control, but it was not long before Hamilton's brilliance came to the fore. On laps 17, 18 and 19, Hamilton set a hat-trick of fastest laps and Bottas's two-second lead had evaporated. Then, on the run down to Turn 1 on lap 20, Hamilton cruised round the outside of Bottas to lead the grand prix.

Over the course of nine spellbinding laps, Hamilton opened up a seven-second lead over the Finn and with that, any chance Bottas had of stopping Hamilton from rewriting F1's record books was over.

The Mercedes machine is in a class of one this year and with Hamilton at the wheel, he has no competition. The Englishman pulled in for his solitary change of tyres with 26 laps remaining before lapping the entire field up to Leclerc in fourth. It was a devastating display and one befitting of this great British talent.

Despite his accident with Verstappen on the first lap, Perez turned in a wonderful recovery drive. He finished seventh. AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly took fifth ahead of early leader Sainz.

Lance Stroll, who missed the last race with an illness which was later diagnosed as coronavirus, endured a miserable afternoon.

Portuguese Grand Prix
Portuguese Grand Prix

First, he was penalised five seconds for crashing into Lando Norris at the first corner - relegating the young Briton way down the order - before he was handed an additional five-second penalty for exceeding track limits. His Racing Point team later retired him from the race.


03:12 PM

Well, that was an enjoyable afternoon

What a drive from Hamilton. Stay tuned to these very pages for more reaction and analysis from the weekend and over Hamilton's entire, incredible career. Thanks for joining me. 


03:06 PM

Hamilton greeted by his father after his record-breaking win

Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates his record breaking 92nd race win with his father Anthony Hamilton in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on October 25, 2020 in Portimao, Portuga - Dan Istitene - Formula 1 

02:57 PM

Updated constructor standings


02:53 PM

Updated driver standings - top 12

How long until Hamilton claims his seventh title? I'll get the calculator out...

23 points from fourth to 11th with five races to go. That's tight.  


02:48 PM

92 Grand Prix wins

It's a lot. 


02:47 PM

It's nice that here are 25,000 or so fans there today to mark this moment

Hamilton thanks his team after the race. He was flawless today after he took the lead. He had to fight but he had it all in his pocket, really. Bottas absolutely hammered. Verstappen in that no-man's land, Leclerc superb for fourth. Vettel gets a point! Ocon finishes ahead of Ricciardo, that was needed. Gasly fifth. 


02:46 PM

Chequered flag

Classification:

  1. HAM 
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. GAS
  6. SAI
  7. PER
  8. OCO
  9. RIC
  10. VET
  11. RAI
  12. ALB
  13. NOR
  14. RUS
  15. GIO
  16. MAG
  17. GRO
  18. LAT
  19. KVY

OUT: STR


02:45 PM

LEWIS HAMILTON WINS THE PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER'S RECORD HAS BEEN BEATEN. 92 WINS FOR LEWIS HAMILTON! UNBELIEVABLE. 

This has been a fantastic drive from him, a drive worthy of the very best of his career. Some great drives throughout the field, no doubt. But it's Lewis Hamilton's day...


02:44 PM

FINAL LAP

Yes, he does... Sainz breezes past and goes through before turn one.  he's sixth now...Hamilton gets a bit sideways in the middle of his final lap but he's now 25 seconds ahead! 25 SECONDS! And he didn't even take the lead until lap 20!


02:43 PM

Lap 65 of 66 - Can Sainz get Perez?

I think he can...


02:42 PM

Lap 64 of 66 - Gasly takes Perez!

Gasly tries it around the outside in turn one this time, Gasly up into fifth now! Great move. Bold. The soft tyres haven't worked for Perez here. I think he's a sitting duck here. Great race, though. 


02:41 PM

Lap 63 of 66 - Gasly closing right up on Perez

Feints one way and the other and Perez keeps his spot with some aggressive defending... I wouldn't be surprised to hear some complaints from Gasly there. Sainz closing up on the back of this battle. 

"These guys!" Gasly proclaims on the radio. That was nearly a huge crash. But it wasn't...


02:39 PM

Lap 62 of 66 - Sainz closing up on Gasly

And Gasly closing up on Perez. Close to DRS range for both. This could be the battle to watch. Well, it will be... with only a few laps to go. 


02:37 PM

Lap 61 of 66 - Top 10 and intervals

  1. HAM
  2. BOT +19.7
  3. VER +10.2
  4. LEC +24.6
  5. PER +32.9
  6. GAS +1.5
  7. SAI +1.3
  8. OCO +2.7
  9. RIC +1.2
  10. VET +1.8

02:36 PM

Lap 60 of 66 - Hamilton's lead now 18.3s

And having cramp has not affected him as he sets the fastest lap. Or maybe it's made him go faster? Who knows. This is a stunning drive from Hamilton, absolutely stunning. Not much more that you can say for that. A worthy way to break Michael Schumacher's record... if it happens. 


02:35 PM

Lap 59 of 66 - Norris slipping back now

Russell has moved ahead of him for 13th. But Norris is fighting back... and steams past coming out of the hairpin. Perez is having an absolute stormer today, I was right after all. 


02:33 PM

Lap 58 of 66 - Sainz closing on Gasly

And Ocon closing on Sainz. Hamilton has cramp, he says. Presumably in his legs. 


02:32 PM

Lap 57 of 66 - Looking like a decent battle for the middle points positions

Vettel now into the points, chasing both Renaults. 


02:31 PM

Lap 56 of 66 - Hamilton leading by 16.3s

Yeah, it's been one of those afternoons. We haven't seen him for the last half hour on TV. In another class altogether. 


02:29 PM

Lap 55 of 66 - Running order

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. PER
  6. GAS
  7. SAI
  8. OCO
  9. RIC
  10. VET
  11. RAI
  12. ALB
  13. RUS
  14. GIO
  15. NOR
  16. KVY
  17. GRO
  18. MAG
  19. LAT

OUT: STR


02:29 PM

Lap 54 of 66 - Ocon finally pits

Where will he come out? Just ahead of his team-mate in eighth and on fresh soft tyres. Time oenalty for Daniil Kvyat, presumably for track limits. 


02:28 PM

Lap 53 of 66 - Stroll, down in last, pulls into the garage and retires

Rotten afternoon from him, really. Look at his team-mate, in sixth, and who was punted off on the opening lap...

Formula One F1 - Portuguese Grand Prix - Algarve International Circuit, Portimao, Portugal - October 25, 2020 Racing Point's Sergio Perez in action during the race Pool - JOSE SENA GOULAO 

02:26 PM

Lap 52 of 66 - Top 10

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. OCO
  6. PER
  7. GAS
  8. SAI
  9. RIC
  10. RAI

02:25 PM

Lap 51 of 66 - 15 laps to go

Which means Bottas needs to find a second a lap on Hamilton to even catch his team-mate. Not one of Bottas's finest days. Albon is about to get lapped by his team-mate. Not great from him either. Vettel down in 11th and will it be another pointless afternoon?


02:23 PM

Lap 50 of 66 - Verstappen no longer closing up on Bottas

And Leclerc 15s behind him. Think this top four is locked in. Where would Ocon come out when he stops? Eigth or ninth I think. Sixth is possible for him today, I think. 


02:21 PM

Lap 49 of 66 - Albon not having a great day, it has to be said

But a 1.8s pit stop from the Red Bull mechanics just then. Hamilton puts in another fastest lap. Russell closing up on Giovinazzi in 13th. Hamilton leads by 14.5s. 


02:20 PM

Lap 48 of 66 - Bottas finds some pace

But far too little and far too late. Ocon still hasn't stopped. If Perez ends this race in fifth after being punted down the field at the start then, well... how can this man not have a drive for next year?


02:18 PM

Lap 47 of 66 - Top 10

  1. HAM
  2. BOT +14.5
  3. VER +21.7
  4. LEC +35.4
  5. OCO +46
  6. PER +67
  7. GAS +68
  8. RIC +69
  9. SAI +70
  10. RAI +72

Albon 11th, Vettel 12th. Russell 14th. 


02:17 PM

Lap 46 of 66 - Perez pits...

Leclerc not finding the pace to challenge Verstappen, but the Red Bull is closing on Bottas and fairly quickly. Just 7.2s at the moment, having taking 0.7s out on the last lap.


02:16 PM

Lap 45 of 66 - Hamilton asks about rain, again

Nothing significant, he's told. Gasly gets Ricciardo for seventh, Ocon ahead next. Hamilton flying, setting another fastest lap. He's going to have a pit stop on Bottas by the end of this race. 


02:14 PM

Lap 44 of 66 - Verstappen goes quickest in S2

Hamilton quickest in S2. He leads by 13.2s now... that's huge. Bottas has just not been in the same race since he lost the lead. 


02:13 PM

Lap 43 of 66 - Bottas struggling to get his tyres working

And Hamilton extends his lead to 11.3s. Norris told he has a slow puncture. 


02:12 PM

Lap 42 of 66 - Bottas nearly loses his front wing leaving the pits

That pit exit can be treacherous... and Giovinazzi and Russell go right across his front wing as they speed into turn one. Would have to see a replay to see how close it was but it looked it on initial viewing. 


02:10 PM

Lap 41 of 66 - Hamilton comes into the pits

And comes out second on the hard tyres. Bottas thinking of going onto the soft tyres. Not sure it'll work but staying on the same tyres is really unlikely to work, either. Grosjean picks up a five second penalty for track limits. Bottas does go onto the hards in the end. 


02:08 PM

Lap 40 of 66 - Running order

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. PER
  6. OCO
  7. RIC
  8. GAS
  9. SAI
  10. RAI
  11. ALB
  12. VER
  13. NOR
  14. GIO
  15. RUS
  16. GRO
  17. KVY
  18. MAG
  19. LAT
  20. STR

02:07 PM

Lap 39 of 66 - Bottas laps Albon

Leclerc 10.5s away from Verstappen and a podium with much fresher tyres. Wonder if he could challenge towards the end of the race? It's possible, Verstappen making no great shakes at the moment. 


02:06 PM

Lap 38 of 66 - Bottas on the verge of black and white flag now

As he complains about vibrations in the tyres. Hamilton's lead is back up to 8.7s. 


02:04 PM

Lap 37 of 66 - Bottas claws back a bit of time

Just under a second. Think Hamilton is in traffic, though? Possibly. Russell finally pits, only Ocon and the Mercedes yet to stop now. 


02:03 PM

Lap 36 of 66 - Stroll pits for a change of tyres and his 10s penalty

I do wonder if Russell and Williams could pull out a maverick strategy and nab some points here? Think it might take a safety car for that, as it stands. No retirements yet. 


02:02 PM

Lap 35 of 66 - Hamilton's lead has stabilised

To just under nine seconds. Brilliant driving from him, though. 


02:01 PM

Lap 34 of 66 - Ocon and Perez duelling for P5

Great to see. Good, clean fighting from the two men who had such a trouble relationship at Force India together. Good, clean, fair and hard racing there for the whole first sector. Leclerc finally pits. 


01:59 PM

Lap 33 of 66 - Bottas says he has a "cool the car" warning on his dash

Hmmm. We don't hear the answer from his team. 


01:58 PM

Lap 32 of 66 - Is this race done?

Hard to see how Bottas gets it back from here but it could come down to how they both use the hard compound tyre, whenever they do stop. Leclerc doing a sterling job in third, though yet to stop. he should still come out in fourth, though and might be able to challenge Verstappen for third...

How are we not even at half-race distance?


01:57 PM

Lap 31 of 66 - Top 10

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. LEC
  4. VER
  5. OCO
  6. PER
  7. RUS
  8. RIC
  9. GAS
  10. RAI

01:56 PM

Lap 30 of 66 - Hamilton sets another fastest lap

Grosjean's time to get a black and white flag. Gasly tries to defend from Ricciardo but can do nothing about it. Ricciardo, who stopped early on, moves up into P8. Russell in P7 now.

Lance Stroll gets another five seconds for abusing track limits. So that's 10 seconds in total...


01:54 PM

Lap 29 of 66 - If you want to know the difference between Bottas and Hamilton

This Grand Prix is the perfect example. Barely a hair's width to separate them in qualifying, Hamilton pulling out pole at the death. Bottas gets in the lead and keeps it for a few laps before Hamilton launches an attack, takes the lead and builds a massive lead in absolutely no time as Bottas has absolutely no answer. 


01:53 PM

Lap 28 of 66 - A few spots out in the pit lane

But, again, nothing significant. Bottas just cannot hold onto the back of Hamilton here. He's nearly seven seconds behind. That has just gone and gone. 


01:51 PM

Lap 27 of 66 - Top 10

  1. HAM
  2. BOT +4.8
  3. LEC +21.1
  4. GAS +38.0
  5. VER +45
  6. OCO +49
  7. VET +50
  8. PER +54
  9. RUS +58
  10. GIO +61

01:49 PM

Lap 26 of 66 - Hamilton extending, extending, extending his lead

With another fastest lap...

Russell still in the points, just about. Gasly now in fourth and doing very well. 25 laps on these soft compound tyres. 


01:48 PM

Lap 25 of 66 - Hamilton says his tyres are good now...

He sets another fastest lap of the race and puts another couple of tenths between him and Bottas. 


01:47 PM

Lap 24 of 66 - Time penalty for Stroll for causing a collision

For the Norris incident. He takes five seconds for that. Verstappen comes out behind Sainz and in sixth, just ahead of Ocon. 


01:46 PM

Lap 23 of 66 - Perez takes 10th on the pit straight

George Russell running in the points now, just ahead of him by a couple of seconds. Verstappen about to dive into the pits...


01:45 PM

Lap 22 of 66 - Perez fighting back here

He's up into P11 now, just a spot outside the points and closing up on Giovinazzi. Hamilton is now three seconds ahead of Bottas and I'd suggest he was indeed keeping his powder dry earlier on. Verstappen now 14.7s behind Hamilton. 


01:43 PM

Lap 21 of 66 - Running order

  1. HAM
  2. BOT
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. GAS
  6. SAI
  7. OCO
  8. VET
  9. RUS
  10. GIO
  11. KVY
  12. PER
  13. GRO
  14. MAG
  15. LAT
  16. RIC
  17. RAI
  18. ALB
  19. NOR
  20. STR

Perez in 12th and everyone from 16th down has stopped. Bit more rain out there? Sainz thinks so. 


01:41 PM

Lap 20 of 66 - Hamilton takes the lead!

As easy as you like. DRS is way, way too powerful here as Bottas moves over to the right hand-side of the track to defend but it doesn't work and Hamilton goes around the outside with ease. That felt inevitable from the moment Hamilton started whinging about his tyres a few laps back. 


01:40 PM

Lap 19 of 66 - Bottas about to lose the lead

Hamilton is within DRS range and then shortly within 0.4s and now right up onto the back of his team-mate. Can't see this lasting long. Not that I'm wishing it but if they took each other out it'd make an interesting race. Or would it?


01:39 PM

Lap 18 of 66 - Stroll and Norris collide!

Was that at turn one? Yep. His front wing has a few elements hanging off. He'll have to pit. Think that was Stroll's fault as he tried to go around the outside of turn one and couldn't make it. Norris also has damage and says he has to box. Stroll went off the track to try that move...


01:38 PM

Lap 17 of 66 - Gasly and Sainz getting close

And Verstappen's front right is looking very angry indeed. Hamilton sets the third fastest lap in succession, closing the gap to 1.3s.


01:36 PM

Lap 16 of 66 - Ricciardo stops

And he's out down in 19th. And Hamilton sets another fastest lap, taking another 0.3s out of the lead. 


01:35 PM

Lap 15 of 66 - Hamilton not pleased with his tyres

But what else is new? Oh and just like that he sets the fastest lap of the race and takes a few tenths out of Bottas. 


01:33 PM

Lap 14 of 66 - Think this will be a fascinating battle for the lead

I imagine Hamilton will be keeping his powder as dry as he can. He's currently 2.4s behind the race leader. 


01:32 PM

Lap 13 of 66 - Raikkonen pits

Leclerc mugs former race leader Sainz for fourth as Verstappen is losing a second a lap on the leaders. Not good news. Verstappen says his left front is done and I don't think it'll be long before he comes in. Red Bull are going to have to try something a bit different today, perhaps. Or maybe just settle for third...


01:30 PM

Lap 12 of 66 - Top 10

  1. BOT
  2. HAM +1.9
  3. VER +.69
  4. SAI +12.7
  5. LEC +12.8
  6. NOR +16.8
  7. GAS +17.7
  8. RIC +20.1
  9. STR +21.0
  10. RAI +23.0

01:29 PM

Lap 11 of 66 - "This front left is not going to last very long," Verstappen says

Early pit stop? I think he'll wait a few more laps, he'd currently come out... well, well in the middle of the pack as it stands. 


01:27 PM

Lap 10 of 66 - Bottas leads Hamilton by 1.9s

Verstappen a further 3.2s behind Hamilton and a few tenths slower than both Mercedes. Stroll gets a black and white flag for track limits abuse. Could be a penalty if he continues to stray. 


01:26 PM

Lap 9 of 66 - Leclerc past Norris

And Ricciardo past Raikkonen. McLaren falling back a bit now. Leclerc got through very easily on the straight, not something we're used to seeing but DRS seems mighty powerful today. 


01:25 PM

Lap 8 of 66 - Running order

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. SAI
  5. NOR
  6. LEC
  7. RAI
  8. RIC
  9. GAS
  10. STR
  11. ALB
  12. OCO
  13. RUS
  14. GIO
  15. VET
  16. GRO
  17. KVY
  18. LAT
  19. MAG
  20. PER

My prediction about Perez having a stormer not looking likely. 


01:24 PM

Lap 7 of 66 - Sainz slipping back

But his race isn't with the top the championship, in fairness. Hamilton now 1.8s behind Bottas at the end of the lap. 


01:23 PM

Lap 6 of 66 - Bottas takes the lead

Storms past Sainz quite easily there. It was coming... Verstappen is flying, though, his last lap was two seconds quicker than Sainz. This could be a three-way fight. Hamilton closing up quickly on Sainz now and Verstappen not far off, either. Hamilton  gets through very easily and Verstappen won't be long behind the Spaniard, either. 


01:21 PM

Lap 5 of 66 - Verstappen nabs Norris on the straights

DRS assisted. The incident with Verstappen and Perez is being looked at by the stewards, by the way. 


01:20 PM

Lap 4 of 66 - Sainz leads Bottas by a second

I think the Mercedes are turning their medium tyres on now. Bottas closing in but there's not a great deal in it at the moment. Will be interesting this next few laps...


01:19 PM

Perez and Verstappen collide on lap one


01:18 PM

Lap 3 of 66 - Top 10

  1. SAI
  2. BOT
  3. HAM
  4. NOR
  5. VER
  6. RAI
  7. RIC
  8. LEC
  9. GAS
  10. STR

Hamilton coming back at Bottas now, Sainz on the soft tyres is pulling away but not rapidly. He leads by 1.5s at the end of the lap. The rain seems to have eased up now but it is still pretty slippy ot there. Sergio Perez has managed to continue, by the way, but is down in last. 


01:17 PM

Lap 2 of 66 - This is crazy

There's no grip, the rain is getting heavier, Raikkonen is up into the top six, Norris up into fourth now and closing up onto the back of Hamilton...

Now Carlos Sainz takes the lead! He's through at the start of the lap, Bottas has no grip... what's going on with these Mercedes cars? Has Sainz just been able to turn the tyres on? This is fantastic racing! 


01:15 PM

THE 2020 PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX IS GO!

Bottas sets up aggressively, pointing towards Hamilton...

They're away and it's a fine, fine start from Hamilton but it's a poor start from Bottas, who drops behind Verstappen going into turn one... but the Finn fights back into second and pushes Verstappen wide... Verstappen tags Perez, sends him spinning and into the barriers...

So many lock ups, Verstappen is dropping back and back and back, Bottas retakes the lead as Hamilton struggles!

 Sainz now up into second past Hamilton... the rain is getting heavier and there's no grip at all out there... it's like an ice rink. 


01:13 PM

Formation lap is go, by the way

Hamilton says the grip doesn't feel great. The cars form up on the grid...


01:12 PM

A few spits and spots out there

But nothing significant. The track is slippy enough as it is and without too much running from support series this weekend it could become a little greasy quite quickly. 


01:09 PM

Starting tyre types

In the top 10 only Hamilton, Bottas and Leclerc are on mediums, the rest on softs. Outside the top 10 only Raikkonen (16th, softs) and Magnussen (19th, hards) are not on fresh mediums. 


01:06 PM

Strategy chat from Pirelli

I expect some divergence today.


01:00 PM

10 minutes until lights out

Predictions? Albon needs, desperately, a good race. Bottas just needs another win, to be truthful. Can an improved Red Bull challenge Mercedes here? I think Perez is going to have a stormer. 


12:52 PM

Gasly having a brilliant season so far

Yesterday no exception, either. What can he do today? Top 8? Or better?


12:46 PM

Starting grid for the race

About 25 minutes until we get underway.


12:44 PM

"It's super tricky out there," Hamilton says

He locks up on his lap to the grid. Think the first lap will be mighty interesting on cold tyres, gusts of wind and these huge elevation changes and blind corners. 


12:38 PM

Verstappen has a moment, running off on the way to the grid

He says it's pretty slippery and difficult to get the tyres to work. I wonder if that will count against those starting on the mediums? That's both Mercedes and Leclerc in the top 10, by the way. 


12:35 PM

How's the weather looking?


12:33 PM

How are the teams tracking in qualifying?

Below is a progress chart from race six to now. It's taken by measuring each team's fastest lap over each race weekend and calculating that as a percentage of the overall quickest lap. So the larger improvement in percentage terms, the better. 

  1. MERCEDES: +/- 0.00%
  2. FERRARI: +0.21%
  3. RED BULL: +0.36%
  4. MCLAREN: +0.30%
  5. RENAULT: +0.62%
  6. ALPHATAURI: -0.17%
  7. RACING POINT: -0.19%
  8. ALFA ROMEO: -0.76%
  9. HAAS: +0.21%
  10. WILLIAMS: +0.58%

Renault and Williams the big movers, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren also improving decently. AlphaTauri, Racing Point and Alfa Romeo all slipping back to varying degrees.  


12:20 PM

Current driver standings: Top 10


12:11 PM

Hamilton's pole lap

Love this circuit. 


12:06 PM

Final times after qualifying

  1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 16.652secs
  2. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:16.754
  3. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:16.904
  4. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:17.090
  5. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:17.223
  6. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:17.437
  7. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:17.520
  8. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:17.525
  9. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:17.803
  10. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:17.481
  11. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Renault 1:17.614
  12. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:17.626
  13. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:17.728
  14. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:17.788
  15. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:17.919
  16. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:18.201
  17. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:18.323
  18. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:18.364
  19. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:18.508
  20. Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:18.777

11:48 AM

Good morning F1 fans

And welcome to our coverage for the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix from the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, just outside of Portimao. It's the second entirely-new-to-F1 track in this strange and unusual season and, like Mugello, it's not a bad one to watch the current crop of cars on. How good it will be to watch them race on it remains to be seen, though I am sceptical that we will see much — if any — overtaking that comes without the aid of the dreaded Drag Reduction System. 

After a fairly stop/start and almost chaotic few practice sessions with many spins and offs from a variety of drivers, qualifying itself turned out to be fairly entertaining. Lewis Hamilton pulled out a fine lap at the very death — his second on a set of medium tyres — to deny Valtteri Bottas pole position, once again. Max Verstappen, again, was third for Red Bull. 

Pole position qualifier Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP looks on in parc ferme during qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on October 24, 2020 in Portimao, Portugal.  - Dan Istitene - Formula 1 

Here's what Hamilton had to say after his 97th career pole position: 

Yes, we’ve got a great car but you’ve got to drive the nuts off it to pull out a lap and Valtteri has been so quick this weekend. As you’ve seen, he’s topped every session. So I’ve just been digging and digging and digging to find that extra time. At the end there I chose to do three laps, to give me a chance to have a stab at beating his time. I think he decided to do one, so I was like ‘OK, this could provide me an opportunity’ and it worked. That last lap it got better and better as I went through it.

Bottas, meanwhile, must have felt fairly downbeat after being quicker than Hamilton, or so he thought, for much of the weekend. Both Mercedes drivers, interestingly, decided to opt for the medium tyres on their second run in Q3, although Hamilton had enough time for two quick laps. Bottas only had enough time for one. 

Previously in the qualifying the medium actually felt a tiny bit quicker than the soft and that was the reason and then it was choosing if we do two timed laps with a cool-down in between or just one timed lap. With one timed lap you can have less fuel in the car but you might struggle with the tyre warm-up. I went with that. It was my decision to go for one timed because it worked in Q2 but apparently it seems like doing two timed laps for Lewis was better. 

A few other decent performances down the grid, too. Charles Leclerc qualified fourth, an entire 11 spots quicker than Sebastian Vettel. Sergio Perez, who does not yet have a drive for 2021, was fifth for Racing Point, well ahead of his team-mate too. George Russell once more pulled out a superb lap to put his Williams into Q2. He will start 14th. 

The race begins at 1.10pm GMT, and I'll be here for all the build-up, latest updates and reaction from the race.