Portuguese Grand Prix 2021: Nip and tuck racing
Where is the grip?
"Honestly, I'm languishing"
.
.
.
These three words from Adam Grant's excellent piece for NYT titled "There's a Name for the Blah You're Feeling: It's Called Languishing" has stayed with me since I first read the article online. With so much grief around, constant news about death and a virus that seems to be everywhere, it has been difficult to focus. While some have found IPL to be a distraction, I find two hours of F1 the medicine to calm the nerves. With that, let's turn attention to Algarve for the third round of this season - Portuguese Grand Prix.
I. Free Practice
Three sessions. Three different drivers on top. These drivers return to Portimao for the second straight year but unpredictability has been the talk of the town. The undulating track with low grip means drivers struggled to find their footing. Not helping the matters were the wind conditions with tail winds picking up and causing spin. Not as horrendous as Turkey last year but unpredictable even after three hours of practice.
The primary reason for practice sessions is to find where the limit of a car is. It is also a window into finding how your car behaves relative to other cars on the grid and probably pin down a grid. At Portimao, it seemed like Red Bull and Mercedes were in their own fight while Ferrari, McLaren and Alpine were having a fight of their own. When the unknowns are bigger, it means we have more interesting possibilities on the table. That's what happened at qualifying.
II. Qualifying
Imagine you have one of the fastest cars in the midfield team and you drop out in the very first part of qualifying. That's the shocker Daniel Ricciardo had to endure and it was an eye opener into what this tarmac was prepared to throw. If you are caught napping then this track will send you packing. Everyone was driving at their absolute limits. With grip hard to find and track limits at the pit straight, drivers had to find their balance while not going outside the track limits.
It's an ask even for someone with several years of racing experience. After going along really well in the free practice sessions, Fernando Alonso found himself a little out of touch with the track. It meant that he could not get into Q2. This reminded me of carpooling and guessing whether you will make through that traffic stop before it turns red. [Pro tip: In my case, the answer is NO for most traffic stops so think before you ride along with me]
However, there was that absolute precision that Lewis Hamilton brings to the table. He was so quick through that second part of qualifying that it seemed pole was in his bag. When time for Q3, Portimao once again showed don't be quick with judgement. It was clear that Max Verstappen will get going immediately while Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will do double preparation for their push laps.
When Verstappen got it, he was fast but fast only by exceeding track limits. Another lap deleted. Valtteri Bottas managed to get the better of his teammate to take the provisional pole. However, those laps were not as fast as Hamilton's Q2 lap. So, Mercedes switched to mediums, prepared their tyres over two laps and went for push. The push was not fast. Neither Mercedes nor Red Bull improved on their timings.
Bottas took pole ahead of Lewis and Verstappen. Perez completed the second row. Sainz lined up ahead of Ocon while Norris lined up ahead of Leclerc. Gasly and Vettel completing the top 10. Five drivers starting on mediums while five start on soft. What's between P1 and P2 and P3: tyre preparation and focus on getting through the first turn and building enough gap. For the rest of the field, it will be all about extracting maximum from soft compounds and get a jump on the driver ahead
III. Race
Since the start of the turbo hybrid era in 2014, Red Bull Racing have not had even an outside chance at winning F1 World Championship. They have shown glimpses of excellence but never enough to fight for the ultimate prize. From powertrain issue to reliability problem to drivers not scoring the points, Red Bull has had far too many issues. But this is the year when they seem to have addressed a lot of those issues. From a resurgent Honda powertrain to planted car to reliable driver lineup, Red Bull has got a lot going for it this year.
At Portimao, it was clear that we are in for a nip and tuck battle between Mercedes and Red Bull Racing. That was the case when the lights went out. Bottas got a great start while Lewis Hamilton tried to close in on him and Max Verstappen not far behind. It definitely seemed like Bottas would build a gap while Lewis and Verstappen battled for P2. But, Kimi Raikkonen had other plans. On the main straight, the Iceman got a superb slipstream but was not able to control his pace. He touched with his teammate Antonio Giovinazzi and broke the front wing in the process, debris flying on the track and he dipped his car into the gravel trap.
That means only one thing: SAFETY CAR
With Valtteri Bottas behind, the safety car will always remind you of the carnage at Mugello. When the safety car was in and the way Valtteri Bottas started getting the pack together, I was like hope there is no carnage. While there wasn't one, Verstappen did get a jump on Hamilton at restart. Bottas pushed a little earlier than Hamilton expected him to. With the way Verstappen was going, it seemed like he would catch even Bottas. Then something happened. Suddenly, Red Bull was not that quick and Verstappen made a mistake and Lewis Hamilton was back at him.
P2: Hamilton
P3: Verstappen
Then came one of the many crucial moments of the race. Hamilton was fast and when Valtteri Bottas went right on the main straight, Lewis Hamilton took the fast but long way to beat him. Another instance when Hamilton was able to beat his rival who has the same car. Not sure what Bottas needs to push him. Even Toto's rare radio message is no longer doing the trick. His race is always jeopardized by something or other.
When Max Verstappen was not able to beat Bottas like Hamilton did, they used an undercut. Max stopped, switched to a hard compound and used the lap to get temperatures into it while Bottas pitted to a fresh hard compound and came out struggling for grip. Verstappen went past him and when Bottas got his tyres up to temperature and started putting some fast laps, he had some sensor issues and even complained about losing power. I would not want to be Bottas.
P1: Hamilton
P2: Verstappen
P3: Bottas
While the battle for top three was constantly in focus, Sergio Perez was on his own, coming home P4. From P5 to P10, it was an intense battle. First Sainz managed to jump Perez at the start but he lost out with old tyres, finishing outside points. Norris took the fight to Ocon's Alpine and came home P5. Charles Leclerc managed P6 while Ocon and Alonso brought home their Alpine A521 in P7 and P8. Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly finished P9 and P10 respectively.
McLaren is comfortably leading Ferrari but this constructors championship battle for P3 will likely go down to the wire. There are 20 more races in this calendar and anything could happen. I also relished the fight between Williams and Haas and another race when you wonder what Nikita Mazepin is even doing there. This race showed signs of life but was not as exciting as Bahrain for me.
Next weekend: Spanish GP at Catalunya. Can Red Bull surge ahead of Mercedes?
IV. News
Let me wrap up with a few F1 news. First Canada is out due to COVID restrictions and Turkey is filling in. So, get ready for another possible "driving on ice" race
FIA has announced experimenting with Sprint Race this calendar season at three races. FP2 on Friday will be replaced by qualifying, which will decide the grid for Sprint race, which will replace the traditional qualifying on Saturday. The 20 lap sprint race will decide the position for the race on Sunday. The top three finishers of the sprint race will get 3, 2 and 1 points respectively.
The idea here is to bring excitement to F1. While it is not likely to change the pecking order in a big way, the drivers championship and constructors championship could be decided by these few points. Remember, Fernando Alonso could have been 4-time world championship if not for those 1 or 2 points he did not manage.
Before you go:
Stay Safe. Wear a mask, obviously. Get vaccinated if you can. See you next weekend. Adios.