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F1 LIVE | Follow the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix here!
- GPblog.com
Round three of the 2021 Formula 1 takes place on Sunday afternoon at 15:00. In Portugal, Valtteri Bottas, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen start in that order followed by Sergio Perez. Will Mercedes be able to keep Red Bull Racing behind? Follow our liveblog below to find out!
Liveblog - Portuguese Grand Prix
Mercedes v Red Bull
It was not an easy qualifying session for the drivers due to the weather conditions. Verstappen seemed to set the first time in Q3, but due to track limits, he had that time deleted. In the following laps, the Dutchman wasn't able to beat neither Lewis Hamilton or Valtteri Bottas' times.
The Mercedes cars proved to be the strongest during qualifying. While Bottas took care of P1 with a time of 1:18:348, Hamilton was just a bit slower. The Englishman clocked a time of 1:18:355, which meant he had to settle for second place. The Mercedes driver will have to keep a close eye on Verstappen in the first corner.
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Midfield in Portimao
Behind the top three, it is equally exciting. Pérez drove an excellent lap in Q3 and will start the race in fourth place. Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc all line up behind. Pierre Gasly and Sebastian Vettel complete the top ten.
It's still early days, but currently, the top four drivers in the Championship standings all compete for four different teams. It's expected that Bottas and Perez will work their way up the leaderboard, but we still predict Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc will be racing against each other all season for the best of the rest position. Ferrari and McLaren will be renewing their rivalry in 2021.
Pierre Gasly has looked strong in his AlphaTauri but has only scored six points in the two races. Aston Martin looked much improved in Imola, but Sebastian Vettel is still yet to score a point for his new team.