2021 Portuguese Grand Prix - Portimão, Apr 30 - May 02

[SirBastianVettel]

It’s nice not knowing really, isn’t it!

Amen to that!

[ispano6]

Perez may be a bigger factor than Bottas. The upgrades applied may also as well.

[tpe]

Based on the performance in the first 2 GP and on the dry, I would say it's LH, unfortunately.
Because Bottas is nowhere.

Mercedes has a huge advantage in tyre management. And thus, they have much more strategy options.

[zibby43]

Why not?

To me it seems that the Mercedes is a lot kinder on its tires. And considering the track characteristics I expect that this will be the main performance differentiator. Last year we saw that even over one lap the medium tires seemed to be faster, despite Pirelli bringing the hardest compounds available. So I expect Red Bull to be strong on Saturday but Mercedes to be superior on Sunday because they are kinder on their tires.

I share similar thoughts as well.

This was one of Merc’s most dominant circuits last year in terms of race pace, and irrespective of where they qualify, on-track overtaking is possible here.

[zibby43]

They’ll likely need to catch and pass them then. Much easier said than done.

Last year passing wasn’t very difficult at this track because of the length of the straight and the power of the DRS. The wind direction might be an important factor, a head wind on the straight will make overtaking a lot easier than a tail wind.

The Red Bull is a very fast car. It won’t be easy for anyone to overtake them, and they will sprint off and build up a quick lead. I think the best chance for Mercedes is going to be round the pit stops. It could be a very interesting strategic battle, like Bahrain.

True, it is a fast car, but RB hasn’t had enough pace in hand in either race to gap Mercedes to the extent that they were safe from all strategy options, even with LH losing 0.6 - 0.8s per lap in the opening stint in Imola.

[haza]

I think people are forgetting that it’s not just a Hamilton Verstappen championship battle Bottas, Perez all in championship winning cars and posting good times in quali (perez p2) Norris last weekend less than half a tenth from pole before deleted lap and making a Mercedes work for 5-6 laps to get p2 in the end of the race with Norris on shot soft tires
From Bahrain to Imola Mercedes have found pace over redbull McLaren have found nearly a second in performance from Bahrain to Imola (if you look at the quali times) and Ferrari right there also for all we know come Abu Dhabi it could be a 4 way championship battle yes Bottas and Perez made mistakes last weekend but even Hamilton made mistakes this season could be a 2012 repeat

[tpe]

I think people are forgetting that it’s not just a Hamilton Verstappen championship battle Bottas, Perez all in championship winning cars and posting good times in quali (perez p2) Norris last weekend less than half a tenth from pole before deleted lap and making a Mercedes work for 5-6 laps to get p2 in the end of the race with Norris on shot soft tires
From Bahrain to Imola Mercedes have found pace over redbull McLaren have found nearly a second in performance from Bahrain to Imola (if you look at the quali times) and Ferrari right there also for all we know come Abu Dhabi it could be a 4 way championship battle yes Bottas and Perez made mistakes last weekend but even Hamilton made mistakes this season could be a 2012 repeat

That would be possible if teams continue the development of 2021 cars. But I think Ferrari and McLaren will stop development soon.

[Mansell89]

One of the fascinating things for me early on is that the “second” drivers in the top teams are now being challenged by those drivers in the midfield who are extracting the best out their cars- that’s making for much more exciting quali and racing.

It also shows you that Hamilton and Verstappen are genuinely elite in their performances too.

Agree with the above though that McLaren and Ferrari both should focus on 2022 as the last thing they want is to have Merc miles in front for another era.

[SiLo]

One of the fascinating things for me early on is that the “second” drivers in the top teams are now being challenged by those drivers in the midfield who are extracting the best out their cars- that’s making for much more exciting quali and racing.

It also shows you that Hamilton and Verstappen are genuinely elite in their performances too.

Agree with the above though that McLaren and Ferrari both should focus on 2022 as the last thing they want is to have Merc miles in front for another era.

It's just confirming what most of has have known for a while, that those two are pretty special drivers.

[godlameroso]

HAHAHAHAHA! YES bring it on! Verstappen should have a .15 second advantage over a single lap. Hamilton was absolutely mega in the race, if the current trend continues in a flat race between the two it's too close to call, track position is king.

We just need the back ups to join the fray, make things a bit more interesting. At least if the goal is to maximize the team result.

The fight between Ferrari and McLaren will become cemented.

[JPower]

No reason to think McLaren and Ferrari can't fight for another podium IMO. I think the field is close enough for someone from one of those teams is going to nail a Q3 lap to breakup the Merc/RB duos.

However, I don't think that'll be the case past June. I'm curious to see how long Merc/RB continue their development race.

[godlameroso]

No reason to think McLaren and Ferrari can't fight for another podium IMO. I think the field is close enough for someone from one of those teams is going to nail a Q3 lap to breakup the Merc/RB duos.

However, I don't think that'll be the case past June. I'm curious to see how long Merc/RB continue their development race.

Unless Bottas or Perez both make mistakes, McFerAT will be fighting for 5th. Right now is their best chance before the grid settles into the true pecking order.

[JPower]

No reason to think McLaren and Ferrari can't fight for another podium IMO. I think the field is close enough for someone from one of those teams is going to nail a Q3 lap to breakup the Merc/RB duos.

However, I don't think that'll be the case past June. I'm curious to see how long Merc/RB continue their development race.

Unless Bottas or Perez both make mistakes, McFerAT will be fighting for 5th. Right now is their best chance before the grid settles into the true pecking order.

Entirely possible if you ask me. Granted, both Perez and Bottas were pretty good at Portimao last year but its a new year with new cars, who knows what could happen.

But yes, most likely they'll be fighting for 5th.

[Slo Poke]

Isn’t this exciting..!

[SirBastianVettel]

Has anyone watched any recent races at this track? I wonder what the current state of the track surface is like. Last year it was obviously very difficult for the teams to generate heat in the tires and this may have had an impact on the competitiveness of certain teams.