F1: 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix Preview

Lewis Hamilton will arrive at the circuit with a handy 69-point advantage over Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas after his unfortunate retirement at the Nurburgring.

Hamilton clinched a record equalling 91^st victory in Germany, matching the previous record holder Michael Schumacher. The Brit will have the opportunity to edge ahead of Schumacher if he can edge ahead of his rivals on Sunday afternoon.

With just six races remaining of the shaken-up 2020 calendar, a seventh world championship seems inevitable as Bottas and Max Verstappen find themselves too far adrift of the championship leader.

Further down the field Lance Stroll looks set to retake the wheel after it was revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and therefore was absent for the Eifel GP. Nico Hulkenberg stepped in at the last minute and impressed last time out; the driver is expected to be on standby once more in Portugal.

Meanwhile as we enter the final six races weekends, Haas prepare to say farewell to both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean as it was confirmed the pair are set to depart at the end of the season after being partnered at the team since 2017.

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The history of Portugal and F1

Remarkably Portimao has never hosted a Formula 1 race in its history, however, there have been F1 cars on the track for pre-season testing in 2009.

Portimao will be a fresh test for the teams and it will be a step into the unknown for the most part as drivers will need to make the most of the practice sessions to gather valuable data and an understanding of the track demands.

The last time Portugal hosted a race was when Estoril occupied a place in the season calendar from 1984-96, with previous winners including Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell who both boast a hat-trick of victories at the track.

Rain a possibility…again

Portimao is set for a dry and warm Friday and Saturday, but as with several of the previous races there is a tease of potential rain anticipated for Sunday.

The Portuguese GP is set to host a maximum of 27,500 each day after COVID-19 government restrictions were put in place last week.

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