F1 Starting Grid 2020 Portuguese GP
Start grid Portimao circuit
F1 Race Event: Portuguese Grand Prix
Race Track: Portimão Circuit
Start time: 14:10 CET | 13:10 UK | 05:10 LA | 21:10 Tokio
Lewis Hamilton did it again. While his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas topped the leaderboard of every free practice for the first Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix since 1996, the British driver snatched away pole position from Bottas in his very last lap of Q3. Both drivers did deliver the 75th front-row lockout for Mercedes in F1.
Max Verstappen was again best of the rest in the Red Bull and is looking to a much smaller gap towards front row than usual. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc shows that Ferrari is doing a good job with the latest upgrades by starting from P4.
Mexican driver Sergio Perez qualified the Racing Point on a decent P5 and sure showed he still has the pace while looking for a new race seat to stay in Formula one in 2021.
F1 Starting Grid 2020 Portuguese GP
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Pole gap | Tyres |
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:16,652 | M (C2) | |
| 2 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:16,754 | +0,102s | M (C2) |
| 3 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:16,904 | +0,252s | S (C3) |
| 4 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:17,090 | +0,438s | M (C2) |
| 5 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | Racing Point | 1:17,223 | +0,571s | S (C3) |
| 6 | 23 | Alex Albon | Red Bull | 1:17,437 | +0,785s | S (C3) |
| 7 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren | 1:17,520 | +0,868s | S (C3) |
| 8 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:17,525 | +0,873s | S (C3) |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | 1:17,803 | +1,151s | S (C3) |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | no time | - | S (C3) |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1:17,614 | +0,962s | |
| 12 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | 1:17,626 | +0,974s | |
| 13 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri | 1:17,728 | +1,076s | |
| 14 | 63 | George Russell | Williams | 1:17,788 | +1,136s | |
| 15 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:17,919 | +1,267s | |
| 16 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo | 1:18,201 | +1,549s | |
| 17 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | 1:18,323 | +1,671s | |
| 18 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:18,364 | +1,712s | |
| 19 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:18,508 | +1,856s | |
| 20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | 1:18,777 | +2,125s |
2020 Portuguese F1 GP Race Strategy
The fastest strategy for the 66-lap Portuguese Grand Prix is a one-stopper, but with comparatively little running on this new circuit in free practice and consequently a lack of data in terms of wear and degradation levels, to predict the best strategy is harder than usual.
On paper, the fastest strategy is: start on Medium and then move onto Hard around lap 32. Of course, the exact opposite can apply, starting on hard and then moving onto medium after 34 laps.
Second-quickest is another one-stopper: Soft for 18 laps, then Hard for 48 laps.
A two-stopper is slower, but still an option if lower temperatures will favour some graining. In this case, the best option would be Soft-Medium-Medium: 14 laps on Soft and then two 26-lap stints on Medium.
As usual, track temperatures will influence the strategy heavily.
2020 Portuguese F1 GP Race Notes
- P Zero Yellow medium tyres. These were used throughout Q3 by Red Bull’s Alex Albon and for the final Q3 run with both Mercedes drivers, to set their fastest times of the session and take pole with Lewis Hamilton.
- Strategy. Both Mercedes also set their best Q2 times on the P Zero Yellow medium tyres, meaning that this is the tyre they will start the race on. Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc additionally went through Q2 on the medium. All the rest of the top 10 on the grid will start on the P Zero Red soft.
- Weather. Ambient temperatures were generally mild: more than 20 degrees with track temperatures just above 30 degrees and intermittent gusts of wind. Tomorrow’s weather could be variable though, with a chance of rain.
- Surfaces. The newly-asphalted surface in Portimao is very smooth and offers low grip, but should continue to evolve throughout the race.
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