After two high-octane races to start the 2021 F1 calendar, the Portuguese Grand Prix was more of a slow burner with very little on-track action. In the end, it was the usual front three on the podium once again as Lewis Hamilton took the win, Verstappen finished in P2 and Valtteri Bottas came home in third place. In fact, this was the 15th time the three of them shared a podium and they now hold the record for the most occurring trio on a podium in F1 history. While we didn’t see many overtakes or wheel to wheel action during the race, there was still plenty of talking points following the third round of the championship and here are five things we learned from the Portuguese Grand Prix.
1. Hamilton and Mercedes still as dominant as ever
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Red Bull have dominated winter testing and the first two rounds of the season but the pace of Mercedes and the experience of Hamilton came to the fore in Portugal. The reigning champions completely dominated the race from start to front and the slow speed corners at the Portimao circuit suited the German team. Red Bull had no answer to Hamilton and Mercedes throughout the weekend and their car right now feels much quicker compared to the one they wheeled out in Bahrain over a month ago.
2. Bottas still struggling to impress
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After taking pole away from Lewis Hamilton on Saturday, this was the perfect opportunity for Bottas to place a marker on the season and take his first victory of 2021. Nevertheless, the flying Finn once again was second-best during the race after failing to find the pace during his first stint which allowed Hamilton to overtake before being undercut by Max Verstappen during the first round of pit-stops. Bottas has not finished higher than 3rd in any of the three races this season and has only one win in his last 19 races in Formula One. Being Hamilton’s team-mate is one of the toughest tasks in F1 but Bottas’s recent record has left a lot to be desired.
3. Perez pace gives Red Bull more to play with
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Sergio Perez was never in contention for a podium position despite taking the lead of an F1 race for the first time in 2021 but the Mexican had his best race so far in Red Bull colours. Perez finished comfortably in P4 in Portimao which was his highest finish since he joined Red Bull at the start of the year. Perez managed his tyres to great effect in his first stint and his experience and pace allowed Christian Horner and co to mix up their strategies with both cars and give Mercedes something else to think about. This is the first time since Daniel Riccardo that Red Bull have two drivers fighting for podiums and gives them a great chance to battle Mercedes for the constructor’s championship in 2021.
4. Track limit inconsistencies continue to hurt Verstappen
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This has been Max Verstappen’s best start to a Formula One season with one win and two second-place finishes but the Dutchman could have had an even better points tally so far if it was not for the inconsistent track limits. Verstappen has already missed out on a pole and a race win due to track limits this season but has now also missed out on the bonus point for the fastest lap in Portugal after the stewards deemed that Verstappen had exceeded track limits at turn 14. Red Bull were visibly frustrated with this decision because of the inconsistency with how track limits have been policed for various teams across the weekend.
5. Alpine continue to improve
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The newly christened Alpine team had their best result in Formula One in the Portuguese GP with an impressive double point finish. Ocon finished P7 to give Alpine their best result in the three races so far while Alonso also got in on the points with a P8 finish that gives him his best result since Singapore 2018. Ocon, in particular, looked incredibly quick throughout the weekend with a P6 in qualifying followed up by consistent race pace while Alonso also improved towards the latter stages of the race to overtake Gasly, Sainz and Ricciardo on his way to P8.
[Image Credit: Red Bull Content Pool]
Shivaan Shah