2021 F1 Portuguese Grand Prix - Qualifying - As it happened
The 2021 Formula 1 season continues as we head to Portimao for the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Portimao hosted its first F1 race last season as one of the races which was drafted in late due to the ongoing pandemic.
Lewis Hamilton's victory at Portugal last season was the 92nd of his career - moving him one clear of Michael Schumacher in the all-time record books.
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Looking ahead to this year's race, only a point separates Hamilton and Red Bull's Max Verstappen at the top of the championship.
With one victory each - the race for the 2021 drivers' title looks to be finely posted between F1's leading duo.
Outside the top two teams, McLaren sits third ahead of Ferrari.
Lando Norris has enjoyed an impressive start to the season - finishing third last time out at Imola.
What to expect from this weekend?
The weather is forecast to be dry across the three days of running at Portimao.
Pirelli has nominated the C1, C2 and C3 tyres for this weekend - the hardest three compounds in its tyre range for this season.
Ahead of the weekend, Pirelli's head of F1, Mario Isola said: “Tyre management – and getting the harder compounds into their working windows – was an important theme of the Portimao race last year, for a number of reasons. But this year, with the possibility of different weather conditions and a track surface that might have evolved, it could be another challenge entirely.
“The new tyre construction has performed well during the first two races of 2021 and now the hardest compound in the range makes its debut. This range has been selected to cope with the unique demands that this circuit puts through the tyre, exacerbated in the event of warmer weather. Last year all three compounds were used during the race, with a variety of strategies and usage. Conditions were cool and windy, with occasional light rain, while track conditions changed throughout the weekend.
“The new surface was the key factor determining low grip while in terms of tyre performance, warm-up and graining were two other relevant factors.”
