Qualifying Recap: Portuguese Grand Prix

Event: Qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix – Saturday October 24
Location: Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portimao
Layout: 4.653-kilometer (2.891-mile), 15-turn circuit
Weather: Sunny
Air Temps: 21 degrees Celsius (69.8 degrees Fahrenheit)
Track Temps: 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit)
Pole Winner: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:16.652) 
Result: Romain Grosjean qualified 18th / Kevin Magnussen qualified 19th 

Free Practice No. 3 Rundown

Magnussen: 18th overall (1:18.287), 13 laps completed
Grosjean: 20th overall (1:18.454) 19 laps completed
Fastest: Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:16.654)

Q1 Rundown: 

18-minute session with all 20 drivers – Top 15 advance to Q2

Grosjean: 18th overall (1:18.364)
Magnussen: 19th overall (1:18.508)
Fastest: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:16.828) 

Q2 Rundown: 

15-minute session featuring the Top 15 from Q1 – Top 10 advance to Q3

Fastest: Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:16.466) 

Q3 Rundown: 

12-minute session featuring the Top 10 from Q2

Pole Winner: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:16.652)
Second: Valtteri Bottas of Mercedes (1:16.754)

 

Recap

Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen qualified 18th and 19th, respectively, for Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix, the 12th round of the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

Grosjean and Magnussen entered Q1 with two sets of Pirelli P Zero Red softs for their timed attacks. Grosjean set a best time of 1:18.643 after three runs on his first set of tires. He clocked a faster lap of 1:18.364 on his second set to place 18th at the checkered. Magnussen’s fastest lap on his first Q1 outing was a 1:18.901. He managed to shave fourth-tenths of a second off that with another set of fresh softs bolted on for his second stint – lapping in 1:18.508 for 19th overall.

Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes claimed pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix – the championship leader collecting his ninth pole of 2020 and the 97th of his Formula 1 career. His Q3 fast lap of 1:16.652 beat teammate Valtteri Bottas by .102 of a second.

 

Romain Grosjean, Driver No. 8, Haas F1 Team

“The circuit is pretty cool, it really is a rollercoaster. I would add some gravel in turn one and turn four to get rid of the track limit issue, that would also spice things up on the high-speed corners. Looking at the layout of the circuit here with the low-speed corners, it was always going to be difficult. We’re also suffering from rear overheating on my car on the suspension, the balance was changing lap after lap. I don’t know where we’ll end up in the race. More uncertainty – such as rain, as I said at the Nürburgring, is the best for us. We can maybe pull something out of the hat.”

 

Kevin Magnussen, Driver No. 20, Haas F1 Team

“Some frustration today. We had a problem with the car that meant we could only do two laps on every run – we had been planning to do three laps, at least on the first set of tires to learn as much as we could. On top of that I had traffic on my second lap on the first run, so I didn’t learn a lot on that run. We were just on the backfoot for the next outing. Considering all that, I think I did a decent lap, it was the best that I could do. Clearly we don’t have the pace but we’ll do what we can for the race. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

 

Guenther Steiner, Team Principal, Haas F1 Team

“This was not what you’re looking for from a qualifying session - but it is what it is at the moment. We just need to see what the weather does tomorrow. Maybe we get lucky there and get something out of it. Otherwise, we are where we are.”