Portuguese Grand Prix 2020 qualifying takes place this afternoon as Lewis Hamilton looks to put his Mercedes on the front row of the grid. Red Bull star Max Verstappen will look to stop the F1 world champion along with Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas but can anyone manage it? Express Sport brings you the latest from Portugal.
Portuguese Grand Prix 2020 qualifying preview
Lewis Hamilton has opened up on the challenges of driving at the Portimao circuit as F1 drivers experience the track for the first time.
“Incredibly difficult circuit, massively challenging,” said the Mercedes driver of the layout.
“The undulations are incredible and there are a lot of places where you just can’t see where you’re going.
“The exit of Turn Eight – you’re looking at the sky for a period of time and you have no idea what’s beyond the hill. Also into [Turn] 11 you come in and you don’t know where you are and all of a sudden it arrives at you out of nowhere.
“The surface is very smooth so you see a lot of people making mistakes, sliding and spinning, so it’s not been an easy day.”
Meanwhile, Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll have avoided punishment after their collision in FP2 on Friday.
“Is this guy blind? What the **** is wrong with him?” said a seething Verstappen on the team radio after the contact.
But while the incident was investigated, no further action was deemed necessary by the stewards.
They ruled the crash was a “result of a misunderstanding” and that “both could have contributed to avoid the incident”.
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