This weekend the Formula 1 community is traveling to Portugal for the next race. The Portuguese Grand Prix returned to the F1 calendar for the first time in 25 years. Last year, F1 visited the Algarve Circuit in Portimao for the first time. Needless to say, Lewis Hamilton drew his first blood when he won the race for Mercedes.
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The Mercedes team and Toto Wolff recently released a preview for this weekend’s race. He said: “Last year was our first race in Portimão. It’s an exciting, undulating track that has had great races in 2020. We also saw in qualifying and the first few laps that it is not easy to get the tires running properly.
“We expect another close battle with Red Bull and both McLaren and Ferrari could be there too. Let’s see how things develop in Portugal. “
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SUBMERGED DEPTH
What else did the Mercedes boss say?
Wolff admitted that the Portimao circuit is still relatively new on the F1 calendar. Last year it was the first time that a driver drove on the track. At least in one racetrack like Imola and Turkey, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel were known.
PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL – OCTOBER 25: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP looks on during the F1 Grand Prix of Portugal at Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on October 25, 2020 in Portimao, Portugal. (Photo by Dan Istitene – Formula 1 / Formula 1 via Getty Images)
However, the Algarve Circuit was literally unknown so this is a tremendous learning curve for everyone. Things should be interesting, especially for the Mercedes team, and the German giants will learn all the time. Of course, the team doesn’t expect to override the competition. This year, the Red Bull team and Max Verstappen turned out to be the main contenders for the title.
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Of course, Red Bull will be on the heels of Mercedes this weekend as well. However, the two outfits will be wary of a resurgent McLaren and Ferrari. In Bahrain, McLaren and Lando Norris surprised everyone, and Imola showed that their pace was no lightning bolt. Meanwhile, Scuderia Ferrari has slowly begun to banish the demons of the 2020 season.
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One thing is for sure, since Mercedes took a win at Portimao, they are the favorites. However, Formula 1 is an unpredictable business. Who could have thought that Lewis Hamilton would make a mistake in the wet and throw away a surefire race win?
The post Portuguese GP 2021: Wolff Vary from the threat Red Bull, McLaren & Ferrari pose at Mercedes in Portimao first appeared on monter-une-startup.
