IIn fact, it’s so close that we probably won’t know who has the better car in the first place. In difficult conditions – poor grip, uncomfortable tailwind in some places – the pole position can depend on who can drive a fast lap with the fewest mistakes. Neither Verstappen nor Hamilton felt completely comfortable and many other drivers had twists or moments in the last practice session.
As has often been said, the roles of the second drivers – Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas – could be of crucial importance for the strategy on race day as well as for the decision on the overall goal of the constructor’s title. After difficult weekends in Imola, it is imperative that Pérez and Bottas perform well in Portugal. Let’s not count them out of the battle for pole either.
Elsewhere in the field, Esteban Ocon was a very decent fifth for Alpine, just 0.02 seconds from Bottas – though you suspect he drops a few places, at least in qualifying – and Ferrari seems to have the upper hand over McLaren here. Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished sixth and seventh for the Scuderia, while Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished eighth and twelfth.
Qualifying starts at 3 p.m. CET and we will be here for the next few hours for all preparations, live updates and reactions.
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