PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX 2021

Not the most memorable race weekend, but not the worst race weekend ever. At least Bottas got pole away from Hamilton.

Free Practice 1

• Lots of elevation changes at this track and it’s like a rollercoaster

• Part of Sainz’s Ferrari came off before it was even out of the pit lane

• Callum Ilott is in for Gio this session

• Seb went into the wrong pit box that used to be where Ferrari was and they all laughed it off

• Okay hang on hang onnnnnn umm apparently there’s like a huge change in format that weekend that I’m just not learning about where like there’s one practice and then next session is like some kind of quali and then there’s another practice tomorrow and then another Quali? Is this happening this weekend like right now? I heard nothing about this, I have no idea what they’re talking about, this is so strange

• Max is having terrible tyre problems with so much vibration that he can’t see where he’s going

Free Practice 2

• start of session delayed by 10 minutes because just like last year there are problems with the drain covers and they have to do repairs before session starts so no one sucks up a drain cover and then having the car behind them get hit with concrete

• Max has a brake by wire total failure and it spooks him because it feels like they don’t have brakes so he should be a software thing and can get back out though

• Latifi in the gravel but carries on

• Mazepin slow on a fast corner dangerously and Perez almost hits him

• Engine or power problem for Mick Schumacher

Fp3

• throw a virtual safety car so that some Marshall’s can fix an advertising board that was blown over

• Kimi does a full 360 spin but he’s fine and keeps going, he knows what to do

Qualifying

• hamilton had a lap deleted in Q1 which was awesome because excited of the potential he might not get out of q1, but then he still had 8 minutes so I’d course he gets out

• Perez gets tail wind on turn 4 and it knocks him into the gravel in Q1 but keeps going and is fine

• Out in Q1: Ricciardo, Stroll, Latifi, Little Schumacher, Mazepin

• Ocon knocked out Daniel in Q1 at the last second

• Out in Q2: Russell, Gio, Alo, Tsunoda, Kimi

• George was soooo close to getting into Q3! He starts P11, highest start ever

• Happily Seb actually made it into Q3 in P9

• Bottas gets pole which I didn’t see coming and then Hamilton in second and Max in third and Max is really upset because his lap time which was fastest of the whole session was deleted otherwise he would be pole

Race

• no one has any idea which tire to start on and everyone has starting on different ones

• A pretty clean first lap with Bot keeping the lead except that on the pit straight after they’d been all around then Kimi hits his teammate Gio which is very drama

• Full safety car to clean up the Alfa Romeo

• Lando pulls a beautiful pass on Ocon on the first lap

• Perez had a bad start because of understeer and wheel spin

• After all cleanup up, no one knows why they haven’t pulled the safety car in yet

• 7/66 safety car ending

• Amazing safety car restart with Max getting past Hamilton for second!! Charles getting up to 7th as Sainz drops back and Lando is up in 4th getting past Perez

• 12/66 back steps out on the Red Bull and Max loses the place back to Hamilton

• Perez is upset about how Norris passes him and thinks it was all four wheels across the track

• 20/66 DARN IT Hamilton passes Bot for the lead

• Close call when Lando was released from pit and Ocon was steaming in and I totally thought there was gonna be a pit lane crash

• They decide to try the undercut and pit Max first and then Bot pits in response

• Daniel ricciardo came in for his stop but stops a little after his pit box marks and it causes a longer stop which is sad because he made up a lot of places so far with the bad qualifying where he got out in Q1

• George is back in 16 even though he had a great start in 11th but the Williams is undriveable as soon as he gets close to any other car

• Mazepin about to be lapped and Mazepin cuts off Perez and doesn’t keep out of the way and he has had blue flags waved to get out of the way

• Mazepin gets a 5 second time penalty for holding up Perez

• Tsunoda has a little off

• 55/66 Bottas reports losing power and it turns out it’s a sensor error and he’s fine and keeps going

• Bot and Max both go for fastest lap on the last laps

• Hamilton wins, Max in second with fastest lap and Bot in third. Perez in fourth, Norris, then Charles, Ocon and Alonso

• Ahhhh they took away Max’s fastest lap for track limits so Bot gets it instead

• This was honestly a very unmemorable race