Portuguese Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Lewis Hamilton dominates the wind and Max Verstappen
Lewis Hamilton struggled to set the fastest time in Free Practice 2, hampered by strong winds and suffering tires, ahead of Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas.
The first 20 minutes
After a first free practice session dominated by Valtteri Bottas, the drivers are back on the extremely windy track of Portimao, the same wind that pushes the cars to the outside of turn three. All drivers are on track, fitted with yellow tires except Nikita Mazepin equipped with white tires.
Max Verstappen loses his brakes after only 8 minutes of driving, mandatory return to the pits for the Dutchman who had just set the 3rd fastest time behind Valtteri Bottas and Carlos Sainz.
Fernando Alonso’s and Esteban Ocon’s Alpines are showing more and respectively placed 8th and 11th. The French brand, heir to Renault F1, starts this 2021 season with a lot of bitterness. Indeed, the team hoped to climb back in the constructor ranking and fight at the front. But it is undeniable that the French-colored car lacks speed and stability.
Valtteri Bottas dominates these first 20 minutes (1:20.181), leading by a tenth over Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz.
At midday
The soft tires make their appearance and Lewis Hamilton immediately signs a 1:19.837, two tenths off the record set by his teammate this morning. For his part, the Spaniard Carlos Sainz is keeping up and places his Ferrari in 3rd position, three tenths behind Lewis Hamilton.
The Alpines also increase the pace, well assisted by the slipstream, they are in 5th and 6th positions, just three tenths behind Lewis Hamilton’s car (1:19.837). Max Verstappen, Valtteri Bottas, and Carlos Sainz complete the top 5.
The last 20 minutes
George Russell confirms his good form at the moment, despite a big impact in the race two weeks ago, the driver is in 13th place fifteen minutes before the end of Free Practice 2, he had finished 7th with his Williams in Free Practice 1.
The drivers are completing long relay simulations and we can see many single-seaters understeering then oversteering at the exit of the turn. After 15 laps on the soft tires, Lewis Hamilton estimates that they are no longer performing well.
The timetable
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:19.837 | 33 | |
| 2 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:19.980 | +0.143 | 26 |
| 3 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:20.181 | +0.344 | 28 |
| 4 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20.197 | +0.360 | 33 |
| 5 | Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | 1:20.220 | +0.383 | 32 |
| 6 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1:20.235 | +0.398 | 31 |
| 7 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:20.360 | +0.523 | 33 |
| 8 | Ricciardo | McLaren F1 Team | 1:20.418 | +0.581 | 31 |
| 9 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:20.427 | +0.590 | 31 |
| 10 | Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:20.516 | +0.679 | 28 |
| 11 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:20.558 | +0.721 | 34 |
| 12 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:20.757 | +0.920 | 28 |
| 13 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1:20.976 | +1.139 | 32 |
| 14 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:21.053 | +1.216 | 33 |
| 15 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:21.074 | +1.237 | 32 |
| 16 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:21.225 | +1.388 | 22 |
| 17 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:21.238 | +1.401 | 32 |
| 18 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1:21.537 | +1.700 | 29 |
| 19 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:21.855 | +2.018 | 31 |
| 20 | Mazepin | Haas F1 Team | 1:22.638 | +2.801 | 28 |
