It was a relatively quiet race weekend this week. TKF1 took part in the social media blackout, as did many of the drivers and peers within the F1 community.
Now we are back we are here with a report on the entire weekend and key takeaways for the Spanish GP next weekend.
Main Headlines
Mercedes have seemingly clawed back some of their performance from a disgruntled Red Bull. Dominance across the entire race weekend has certified that Mercedes are not quite as weak as was previously thought. Whilst Bottas was the stronger driver on Saturday in Qualifying, it was Hamilton who took victory once again in Portugal. Bottas has to be credited as he was strong in free practice this week and was the only driver in Q3 to improve upon his Q2 time as the winds picked up, hampering performance for all cars.
It was Lewis Hamilton though, who exploited the mistakes of Max Verstappen and overtook his teammate to seal the win and gain a mightily important eight point lead in the drivers championship. It was a masterclass from Hamilton, who demonstrated just why he is one of the most decorated drivers in F1 history.
Red Bull seemed subdued this weekend as they were unable to respond to Mercedes quite as they had hoped. Max Verstappen’s weekend was littered with mistakes in qualifying and the race. It is these weaknesses that Mercedes will look to exploit over the course of the season. Max threw away his chances at pole position, was too busy hunting Bottas to keep Hamilton behind him and exceeded track limits in trying to pinch a point for fastest lap.
Perez had a quiet weekend, but in comparison to his predecessor pulling his car into fourth is extremely positive. Having a second driver present and scoring points is exactly what Red Bull need if they are going to be able to threaten Mercedes.
The Mid Pack
Elsewhere, it was another great result for Lando Norris who was once again, strong all weekend, and currently sits in third place in the championship ahead of Bottas. These early powerful performances from the Brit will help McLaren’s long term goal of securing third place in the Constructor’s championship again this year.
The same cannot be said for Daniel Ricciardo’s weekend as struggles in qualifying meant he was out in Q1. This presented him with a challenge in the race and did manage a respectable 9th from 17th. When Ricciardo joined Renault, it was suggested that it took him some time to get up to speed with a new set up and this could be influencing what we have seen of him so far this season.
There were big smiles in the Alpine garage this weekend as upgrades had a definite impact on their results this week. Ocon showed great strength in qualifying and made it 2:1 to Alonso, and despite a fantastic drive from Alonso (who was lapping similar times to the front runners at the end of the race) placed ahead of him on Sunday. This will no doubt have spiced up the midfield battle.
It was a mixed weekend for Ferrari as they did not seem as successful as they had predicted to be. Charles Leclerc had a good weekend qualifying and finishing in P6. Carlos struggled with a failed pit strategy and was hung out to dry on much older tyres. This meant he finished 11th, just outside of the points. Carlos, in most likely feeling deflated, especially as he watches his successor in his McLaren seat finish ahead of his and former teammate on the podium in Imola. However, this partnership (despite predictions to turn sour) looks strong for the team and is anticipated to remain stable for a number of years.
Rest of the Pack Summary
- Aston Martin showing very little pace and no points, despite Sebastian Vettel breaking into Q3
- George Russell was one again only a small margin away from Q3, but hopeful race pace never appeared for Williams.
- Mick Schumacher looked as competitive as a Haas can get overtaking Nicolas Latifi during the race.
- Uneventful weekend for Alpha Tauri with 1 point scored by Pierre Gasly.
That is it for your Portugal GP Weekend Report. It was business as usual and quiet. Most teams are walking away from the weekend with much to think about. The high wind speeds and smooth track surface tested the cars in a different way and it’s likely the teams will come to Spain next weekend with plenty in data analysed. Interestingly, Mercedes were vocal about how much more work they’ve got to do. Despite not pulling of the best weekend, coming away from Portugal, this season is perhaps not quite just a two horse race…
