Unexpectedly, Portugal is set to rejoin the Formula 1 schedule in 2027; the Algarve International Circuit, frequently referred to as Portimao, has secured an agreement to take over from Zandvoort for both the 2027 and 2028 seasons.
Considering Formula 1’s extensive aspirations for growth into new international territories, with nations such as Thailand, Rwanda, and South Africa highlighted as potential locations for upcoming Grand Prix events, Portugal’s re-entry feels rather unconventional. Nevertheless, it’s encouraging to witness a well-liked track back on the roster; Portimao, naturally, hosted races during the 2020 and 2021 ‘pandemic seasons’.
In addition, Portugal hosted Grand Prix events during the 1950s at the Boavista and Monsanto street circuits, before rejoining the F1 schedule in 1984 with the challenging Estoril track. This circuit staged its final Grand Prix in 1996, because the necessary refurbishment efforts for Estoril to secure its place on the 1997 and 1998 calendars were not finished on schedule – leading to the country’s 24-year hiatus before hosting another race.
In commemoration of Portugal’s comeback, it seems fitting to activate a retrospective journey and explore a selection of the country’s most memorable Grand Prix events…
1984: Prost Secures Win, Yet Lauda Clinches Championship by Minimal Margin
Lauda is crowned as 1984’s champion – flanked by two future title winners
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
The Estoril event featured an all-McLaren championship battle between two competitors at differing stages of their Formula 1 careers: Alain Prost was navigating the nascent period of his highly distinguished journey, having rejoined McLaren after three seasons with Renault, whereas Niki Lauda was in his third year with McLaren subsequent to his initial sudden retirement – and just a year shy of his permanent departure. Both drivers maintained a consistent level of performance throughout the season; aware of Prost’s capabilities, Lauda initially displayed coolness towards the Frenchman’s entry, but they ultimately forged an amicable collaboration that likely spurred both individuals to perform optimally.
Lauda commenced the competition with a 3.5-point advantage over Prost, requiring a second-place finish to guarantee his third world championship. However, qualifying proved underwhelming; the Austrian qualified merely 11th, while Prost occupied the front row directly behind pole-sitter Nelson Piquet. Piquet’s sluggish getaway would have smoothed Prost’s progression to the front, if the quicker-off-the-line duo of Keke Rosberg (Williams) and Nigel Mansell (Lotus) hadn’t surged past them into the opening turn.
Prost quickly overtook Mansell, and by the seventh lap, he had apprehended and surpassed Rosberg’s unstable Williams. Simultaneously, Lauda was aggressively advancing through the field – with John Barnard remarking that Estoril was “the only occasion I witnessed Niki committing fully and pushing hard”. He trailed Stefan Johansson of Toleman, navigating past competitors such as Eddie Cheever, Patrick Tambay, and Derek Warwick, before eventually overcoming the Swede on lap 27 to enter the scoring positions. Michele Alboreto succumbed to Lauda’s pressure a lap subsequent, followed by additional overtakes on Rosberg on lap 31 and Ayrton Senna on lap 33, repositioning Lauda within contention.
The primary obstacle was Mansell, who had by this point established a lead of nearly 40 seconds. Despite Lauda’s efforts to reduce the deficit, closing to within 27 seconds of the Lotus by the race’s midpoint, his offensive started to wane; Mansell executed a sequence of strong laps to extend the lead beyond 30 seconds. However, the championship scenario underwent a significant shift when Mansell began to decelerate due to brake malfunction – a consequence stemming from a prolonged disagreement with Lotus team principal Peter Warr, who had withheld the team’s only set of larger brake pads from Mansell in the British driver’s concluding race with the squad.
Consequently, Lauda ascended to second place, providing him with the vital half-point buffer required over Prost to secure his ultimate championship victory.
1985: Senna’s Exceptional Performance in Rain Leads to Maiden F1 Triumph
Senna dominated 1985’s Estoril race in sometimes-horrific weather conditions
Photo by: Motorsport Images
When Estoril hosted a Formula 1 world championship Grand Prix for the second time, its date was shifted to April, following Brazil, establishing an initial sequence of Lusophone events. As a result, the spring climate led to a rain-affected race in Portugal, which simultaneously marked the emergence of an F1 icon as Senna masterfully navigated the challenging conditions to achieve his inaugural F1 victory.
Following a single season with Toleman, Senna had taken over from the Williams-bound Mansell at Lotus, gaining access to a potent 97T chassis – an ideal vehicle to display his rapidly developing driving prowess. He secured his initial pole position at Estoril, surpassing his future competitor Prost by four-tenths, and demonstrated superior swiftness from the start, while Prost ultimately relinquished a position to Senna’s teammate, Elio de Angelis.
Despite this being the maiden race where the 25-year-old Brazilian genuinely held the lead in F1, he proved invincible; by the end of the opening lap, he already commanded a 2.5-second advantage over de Angelis, leaving the Italian to battle Prost and Alboreto in his wake. His renown for exceptional wet-weather driving had already been established during his display at the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, and Estoril simply reinforced this reputation.
With deteriorating conditions, Senna gesticulated towards the race control booth, signaling for the race to be halted, but officials remained unresponsive – even after Prost lost traction following de Angelis and collided with the barrier on the start-finish straight. As the competition persisted, Senna managed to lap every driver except Alboreto before the race concluded due to the time limit after 67 of the planned 70 laps – and upon crossing the finish line, Senna’s joy was palpable, his two red-gloved fists thrust into the air in triumph despite the dreadful weather.
1989: Mansell’s Brilliance Followed by Blunder
Mansell looked good value for his lead in Portugal…until he reversed in the pitlane
Photo by: Motorsport Images
The intensifying and strained championship rivalry within McLaren, featuring Prost and Senna, frequently occupied headlines throughout 1989, even though Prost had built a 20-point advantage over Senna by winning in Italy, after the Brazilian’s Honda V10 engine had led to a loss of points at Monza. While the Prost-Senna contention overshadowed the lead-up to the Portugal event, Ferrari somewhat interjected itself into the discourse at Estoril.
Senna secured pole position, intending to mitigate the championship gap to Prost, but was overpowered by Ferrari’s Gerhard Berger in the first turn – and the Austrian quickly established an early lead as Senna dedicated the initial laps to managing the other Ferrari; Mansell appeared energetic and was focused on achieving his third win driving for the Italian team.
By the eighth circuit, Senna’s defensive efforts were dismantled when Mansell executed an overtake on the reigning champion, after which he relentlessly began to chip away at Berger’s lead. The British driver, known for his mustache, trailed his teammate by nine seconds, but rapidly pieced together a series of quick laps to diminish the gap. On the 24th lap, Mansell seized his opportunity; Berger was navigating through backmarkers, and when cornered by Warwick’s Arrows, it provided an opening for Mansell to bypass both cars.
With his position solidified in second, Berger drove his Goodyear tires to their limit before pitting on lap 34, while Mansell followed suit five laps later. This marked the juncture where Mansell’s performance became self-destructive; having overshot his pit slot, Mansell engaged reverse gear and backed into place – an unlawful action, warranting disqualification.
In the chaos of correcting his pit stop, Mansell consequently surrendered the lead to Berger and second place to Senna, then disregarded the black flag for several subsequent laps, placing Senna under renewed pressure. After shadowing the McLaren for four laps, Mansell attempted an overtake on Senna at the commencement of the 49th lap, but Senna resisted, resulting in a collision between them. Berger therefore claimed the win, unchallenged in the closing moments of the race, while Mansell’s action allowed Prost to extend his championship advantage by four points. Concurrently, Johansson managed to guide his overlooked Onyx to an incredibly unexpected podium finish.
1996: Villeneuve Sustains Championship Aspirations with Remarkable Overtake on Schumacher
Villeneuve recovered from a poor start in Portugal to keep his title hopes alive
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Jacques Villeneuve required a four-point lead over Damon Hill at Estoril to force the 1996 title fight to its conclusion at Suzuka, yet the Canadian’s prospects appeared bleak after the initial lap. Having started beside Hill, Villeneuve experienced a poor start and was overtaken by Jean Alesi, who began in third; further exacerbating his difficulties, Michael Schumacher then passed him on the outside into the first turn. Hill maintained a small buffer, but his early lead proved temporary.
Following merely 15 laps, Schumacher encountered the task of managing the lapped Minardi of Giovanni Lavaggi, whose unhurried racing style prompted then-BBC commentator Jonathan Palmer to remark that the Italian was “exceptionally slow” and “present due to financial backing”. Lavaggi diminished Schumacher’s pace through the concluding corner at the end of the 16th lap, a sweeping 180-degree right bend, which afforded Villeneuve the chance to surge around the exterior and benefit from Lavaggi’s slipstream to execute the overtake for third place.
After the initial sequence of pit stops concluded, Alesi fell out of the leading trio (following a narrow avoidance of the wall during his pit entry) and enabled Villeneuve to ascend to second. Both Williams competitors were employing three-stop strategies, granting them freedom to push aggressively, with Villeneuve now performing with confidence; subsequent to the second stops for the Williams pair, Villeneuve dramatically narrowed the deficit to Hill to under a second, yet he stayed closely behind his teammate’s rear wing throughout the third segment of the race.
Hill’s third pit stop, conversely, was unhurried; the 8.8-second duration created an opportunity for Villeneuve to seize the lead, provided his ultimate stop was efficient – at eight seconds, the 0.8-second difference ultimately secured his position. As the Canadian exited the pitlane, the front of his car edged past Hill’s on the pitlane exit, a narrow lead he successfully maintained into the initial corner. Hill found it nearly impossible to keep pace with Villeneuve during the closing laps, thereby confirming the 1995 Indy Car champion’s victory and guaranteeing that the championship would indeed be decided on the last day.
2020: Hamilton Establishes Novel Victory Milestone Following Electrifying Commencement
Hamilton is elated – probably – after scoring his 92nd F1 win in Portugal
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images
After Schumacher secured his last F1 win at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix, his career tally stood at 91 victories – a benchmark seemingly destined to endure for decades. It required 14 years for this record to be surpassed; Lewis Hamilton prevailed in the 2020 Portimao event, elevating his total to 92 wins – though the beginning was far from straightforward.
Hamilton had achieved pole position for Formula 1’s inaugural event at the Algarve circuit, incorporated into the schedule as F1 rapidly assembled a 17-race season disrupted by the worldwide coronavirus crisis. He and his Mercedes teammate, Valtteri Bottas, endeavored to distance themselves from the field during a tumultuous start to the race, influenced by initial rainfall that made traction exceptionally scarce.
Having momentarily ceded a spot to Max Verstappen as well, Bottas succeeded in generating more temperature in his medium compound tires and overtook both drivers, who were contending with traction issues; Verstappen strayed wide and subsequently collided with Sergio Perez’s Racing Point, while Hamilton began to lose ground. Carlos Sainz of McLaren, starting on soft tires, then navigated past everyone and temporarily seized the lead from Bottas.
As the rainfall diminished, drivers on soft tires began to falter. Bottas regained the lead at the commencement of the sixth lap, aiming to create a gap while Hamilton remained trapped behind Sainz for an additional lap. The Finn maintained his position for another 14 laps but was unable to withstand Hamilton’s DRS-assisted attack into the first corner on the 20th lap. By maintaining the inside trajectory, Bottas prompted Hamilton to attempt an outside pass – and from that point, Hamilton soared ahead, establishing a new F1 milestone.
