ESTORIL. Hamilton-Verstappen 2-1. On the Portimao circuit, Mercedes returns to success and the seven-time world champion extends 69 to 61 in the standings over his rival Red Bull. Bottas third with the other Mercedes, who took the point for the fastest lap at the last minute by subtracting it from Verstappen (penalized), fourth Perez with the other Red Bull.
The challenge behind the two strongest teams rewards McLaren on Ferrari: Norris hit fifth place, Leclerc sixth at the wheel of a less brilliant Red than at Imola. For the first time this year Ferrari is in the points with only one driver. Sainz, penalized by a qualifying session with soft tires that forced him to anticipate the pit stop, lost positions in the final until he slipped to eleventh place behind Ocon (Alpine), Alonso (Alpine), Ricciardo (McLaren) and Gasly (AlphaTauri).
The race thrives on flare-ups at the start: Bottas maintains pole position ahead of his teammate, Verstappen and Sainz. First shock with the accident between Raikkonen and Giovinazzi. In the first lap the Finn touches his teammate and ends up outside. At the restart after the safety car, Verstappen moved into second position ahead of Hamilton, while Sainz slipped to sixth.
Hamilton regains second place on lap 11 and takes the lead in 20th, where no one will disturb his 97th win anymore. Last emotion on lap 37, with Verstappen overtaking Bottas and defining the order of arrival. The two drivers will compete for the spot for the fastest lap in the final: Verstappen goes faster, but his time is canceled because Red Bull has gone over the curb with all four tires. This is determined by sensors, so the Dutch driver can regret, but not protest.
Behind the top four, still an excellent race for Norris, who defends the third position in the overall standings. Leclerc criticizes himself: «I didn’t go well over the weekend. I couldn’t do more in the race, but I wasn’t good in qualifying. Fifth place was within our reach ». Sainz is also disappointed, slipping from 5th to 11th place. «From lap 24, when I put on medium tires, the situation has gradually worsened. I immediately tried to pass Norris, then the tires degraded, I had understeer and there was nothing more to do. I made a mistake in critical moments, I have to start from there ».
In the lower parts of the standings, Mick Schumacher stands out: after having seconded his teammate Mazepin as always, the son of the seven-time world champion overtook Latifi, who drives a much more competitive Williams than the Haas.
Next Grand Prix on May 9 in Barcelona at the Montmelò circuit.