MOTORSPORT: Hamilton snares Portuguese F1 Grand Prix
Verstappen left to rue missed opportunities while Ricciardo finishes ninth in PortugalMax Verstappen should have won the Portuguese Formula 1 Grand Prix.
But a bungle in qualifying with the quickest car and then the class and commitment of Lewis Hamilton left him second again and looking for excuses.
It was Hamilton who took the chocolates after passing both Verstappen and his Mercedes-AMG teammate Valtteri Bottas, who started from pole position, in another impressive drive that extended his narrow lead in the Formula One world championship.
Daniel Ricciardo advanced from a lacklustre 16th to ninth in Portugal for McLaren, but was still overshadowed by his fifth-placed teammate Lando Norris.
“I was able to do what I set out to do and overtake some cars, have some battles and get rid of some anger from yesterday, so that was good,” said Ricciardo.
While Hamilton was celebrating, Verstappen was making excuses.
“Something about this track really does not suit our car,” the Red Bull racer said. “We managed to finish ahead of one Mercedes, but it wasn’t quite good enough to get them both.”
The two Black Arrows got away in formation from the front row of the grid but, once again, there was a safety car period early in the race after a second-lap tangle between Alfa Romeo teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovanazzi
When Hamilton was caught out by Bottas at the restart it allowed Verstappen to pounce for second, but then the seven-times world champion got into gear, stalked the two cars ahead, and passed Verstappen and then Bottas before motoring away to the chequered flag.
The final margin for his 97th grand prix victory looked even more comfortable when both of his rivals stopped late in the race for fresh Pirelli tyres to chase the bonus point for fastest lap, a consolation prize claimed by Bottas.
“Obviously not what I was aiming for today because when you start from pole, you want to bring home the win,” said Bottas.
Behind the Big Three, Sergio Perez proved he is getting to grips with the Red Bull – car and team – to finish strongly in fourth ahead of Norris and Charles Leclerc in the better of the Ferraris.
“I love the battle, I’ve loved it since my days in karting and, as a team, we can’t leave any stone unturned – we’ve got to continue to push this car, squeeze everything out of it,” said Hamilton.
“That was such a tough race, physically and mentally, just keeping everything together. But that race was satisfying, when you’re in third and have to overtake two amazing drivers. Having races like that is what I live for.”
But Bottas was barely celebrating, after being outraced by his teammate and already falling out of the championship battle with a points tally that is less than half Hamilton’s after only three races.
Alpine sprang a surprise in Portugal with both cars in the points, Charles Leclerc still ahead of Fernando Alonso in a comeback season, while Ferrari underperformed with only Leclerc able to score points.
The F1 title fight now moves on to Spain, where Verstappen hopes he will have a more even fight with Hamilton and get a clearer picture of the season ahead on a track where all teams will be effectively on home ground.
2. Max Verstappen – Red Bull
3. Valtteri Bottas – Mercedes
4. Sergio Perez – Red Bull
5. Lando Norris – McLaren
6. Charles Leclerc – Ferrari
7. Esteban Ocon – Alpine
8. Fernando Alonso – Alpine
9. Daniel Ricciardo – McLaren
10. Pierre Gasly – Alpha Tauri
2021 Formula 1 driver standings:
Hamilton – 69
Verstappen – 61
Norris – 37
Bottas – 32
Leclerc – 28
Perez – 22
Ricciardo – 17
Carlos Sainz – 14
Ocon – 8
Gasly – 7
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