Warning: scandir(/var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/uploads/circuits/portimao/): Failed to open directory: No such file or directory in /var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/functions.php on line 489
Warning: scandir(): (errno 2): No such file or directory in /var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/functions.php on line 489
Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, false given in /var/www/vhosts/f1boxbox.com/httpdocs/functions.php on line 489
The Portuguese Grand Prix 2021 was the 3rd round of the 2021 F1 season, and took place at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal, during the weekend of April 30th to May 2nd.
Lewis Hamilton won the race after starting in the 2nd position, followed by Max Verstappen, and Valtteri Bottas, who originally had the pole position, completing the podium.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
There were a total of 60 pit stops during the race.
The most popular pit stop windows were:
- Laps 2-3: 38 stops
- Laps 21-22: 6 stops
The fastest pit stop was Esteban Ocon's, stopping the clock at 21.275 seconds during his pit stop on lap 2, while the slowest one was was Daniel Ricciardo's, who stopped the clock at 28.639 seconds, 7.364 seconds slower than Ocon, during his pit stop on lap 41.
These times include the time the driver spent going through the pit lane, as well as the actual time he stopped for the mechanics to work on his car.
Strategy
We saw a variety of options in terms of pit stop strategies during this race, however most drivers chose a 3 stops. Only Valtteri Bottas, Max Verstappen and Nikita Mazepin decided to try something different with a 4 stops strategy.
The race winner, Lewis Hamilton, was on a 3 stops strategy.
3 stops
-
1Lewis Hamilton
-
5Fernando Alonso
-
3Sebastian Vettel
-
-Sergio Pérez
-
7Daniel Ricciardo
-
6Carlos Sainz
-
1Esteban Ocon
-
3Lance Stroll
-
-Antonio Giovinazzi
-
1Pierre Gasly
-
2Charles Leclerc
-
2Lando Norris
-
5George Russell
-
-Nicholas Latifi
-
1Yuki Tsunoda
-
2Mick Schumacher
4 stops
-
2Valtteri Bottas
-
1Max Verstappen
-
1Nikita Mazepin
Excluding those drivers who could not finish the race, those on a 3 stops strategy lost an average of 0.31 positions, while those on a 4 stops strategy didn't gain or lose any positions on average.
This difference in possitions gained, together with a deeper nalaysis of each strategy, reinforces the conclusion that a 3 stops strategy was the best option.
It is important to note that this might not always be the case for other races held at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, as the conditions might change from year to year, in terms of wheel degradation, accidents, safety cars, etc.
Incidents
There race went on mostly with no incidents. Only 1 divers were involved in circumstances that were severe enough to prevented them from finishing the race.
These included, .
Collision damage
-
Kimi RäikkönenLap 1
Qualifying
Valtteri Bottas managed to get the pole position by 0.007 seconds and a final lipe time of 1:18.348. Lewis Hamilton was right behind him, helping Mercedes score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.
The second line fo the grid was dominated by Red Bull, with Max Verstappen in third position, and Sergio Pérez in fourth.
Track evolution
As the qualifying session went on, with the track rubbering in, and the drivers testing the limits of the grip of their cars, the times per lap dropped, and 14 out of the 15 drivers that took place in Q2 were able to improve their times.
The Q3 is the time were all the remaining drivers put all their cards on the table, even those with a superior car who might have been managing their times in Q1 and Q2 push their cars to the limit in Q3. That being said, the changing conditions of the track made it difficult to find these limits, and only 1 driver was able to improve his Q2 times.