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Valtteri Bottas ends Portuguese GP practice fastest as Lance Stroll and Max Verstappen collide

Phil Duncan
·21-min read
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland steers his car during the first practice session prior to the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal, Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 - Jorge Guerrero /Jorge Guerrero 
Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland steers his car during the first practice session prior to the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimao, Portugal, Friday, Oct. 23, 2020 - Jorge Guerrero /Jorge Guerrero

Max Verstappen accused Lance Stroll of being "blind" after the pair collided in an eventful second practice for the Portuguese Grand Prix.

As Valtteri Bottas completed a practice double in Portimao, Verstappen and Stroll crashed at the opening corner.

Verstappen looked to overtake Stroll at the opening right-handed bend, but his front-left tyre made contact with the right rear of the Racing Point.

In a flurry of sparks, the 130mph impact sent Stroll crashing out into the gravel, while Verstappen limped back to the pits in his wounded Red Bull.

"Is this -------guy blind?" yelled an angry Verstappen over the radio. "What the ---- is wrong with him?"

Stroll's car was returned to the Racing Point garage on a truck, with Verstappen later able to return to the track. The stewards are investigating the incident.

During an eventful session ahead of Formula One's first grand prix here at the Algarve venue, Pierre Gasly was also forced to leap from his AlphaTauri after it caught fire.

Gasly pulled over to the side of the track reporting a technical failure before flames emerged from the rear of his car.

Frenchman Gasly wasted little time jumping out of the cockpit before marshals moved to extinguish the fire.

After he drew level with Michael Schumacher's victory record at the previous round in Germany, Lewis Hamilton is bidding to become the sport's standalone most successful driver this weekend with a 92nd career win.

But it was his team-mate Bottas who topped both sessions, with Hamilton second in the first running before having to settle for only eighth later in the day.

The six-time world champion complained of a lack of grip on a track last visited by F1 during a pre-season test in 2009, and he finished 1.4 seconds behind Bottas.

Before his accident with Stroll, Verstappen clocked the second fastest time, more than half a second off the pace, with Lando Norris an impressive third for McLaren. Charles Leclerc took fourth for Ferrari, two places ahead of his team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

George Russell, whose future at Williams is under scrutiny following the British team's recent takeover by Dorilton, finished 11th, 1.7sec behind Bottas.

03:33 PM

FP2 - Classification

  1. BOT
  2. VER
  3. NOR
  4. LEC
  5. SAI
  6. VER
  7. GAS
  8. HAM
  9. OCO
  10. ALB
  11. RUS
  12. PER
  13. RIC
  14. LAT
  15. RAI
  16. MAG
  17. KVY
  18. GRO
  19. STR
  20. GIO

03:31 PM

That is it - FP2 is over

Bottas leads Verstappen and Charles Leclerc. Hamilton seventh after a day of interrupted and stop/start running. 

03:29 PM

FP2 - Two minutes left

Bottas 0.595s ahead of Verstappen. But we haven't had a clean session so we cannot read too much into these times at all. Russell has a chance of ending the session in the top 10, though!

03:24 PM

Here's the Stroll/Verstappen incident in video form

 Make your own minds up...

03:23 PM

SESSION RESTARTS

Good news is that we've had very limited running on the race tyres from the teams. That could make things a little more interesting come Sunday. It's not clear in any way which tyre compound is good or bad. 

03:21 PM

Session to restart in one minute

So that will leave eight minutes or so on the clock. 

03:21 PM

Classification under red flag

  1. BOT
  2. VER
  3. LEC
  4. ET
  5. GAS
  6. HAM
  7. RUS
  8. ALB
  9. NOR
  10. PER
  11. OCO
  12. SAI
  13. LAT
  14. RAI
  15. MAG
  16. KVY
  17. GRO
  18. STR
  19. GIO
  20. RIC

03:20 PM

This won't be the last we hear of this

In the previous lap Stroll had been slightly hindered by Verstappen on his prep lap and it looked like it carried over to the next lap, in so much as neither man wanted to back out.  

03:17 PM

Should get a frantic 10 or so minutes to end the session

03:13 PM

It's practice, it's Friday, you don't need this nonsense

I think both of them can take a share of the blame. Perhaps Verstappen has the lion's share of it, though. The stewards are looking at it. 

03:11 PM

Verstappen on the radio, not happy

"Mate is this guy blind? What the --- is wrong with him? What a ----!"

03:10 PM

FP2 - Would say the smart thing would be for Verstappen to back out of that

Otmar Szafnauer is not too happy with Verstappen, speaking to Sky Sports. He says that Stroll may not have known Verstappen was there. I think he'd have seen him, though and I think Verstappen should have known better. 

03:08 PM

FP2 - Looks like Stroll had finished a hot lap...

...whilst Verstappen was just starting his. We don't know that Stroll wasn't starting another hot lap, though, and he certainly looked committed. Racing Point say he was indeed doing another hot lap. Strange one but looks like a racing incident and could blame either. 

03:06 PM

FP2 - CRASH!

Stroll and Verstappen crash going into turn one! Verstappen put it up the inside, Stroll turned in at high speed and assumed that Stroll was going to let him through. We have another RED FLAG. 

03:05 PM

Who would you want to see in those two Haas seats next year?

Nico Hulkenberg and Callum Ilott would be my ideal pick but I'm not sure either of them will get it, never mind both of them. Suppose it depends on what happens at Red Bull and Alfa Romeo for the parts to fall into place. 

03:01 PM

SESSION RESUMES

Just under 30 minutes on the clock. So a stoppage of just under 15 minutes. 

02:57 PM

Here's the running order while you wait

Everyone but Ricciardo has set a time on the non-prototype tyres. 

  1. BOT
  2. VER
  3. LEC
  4. VET
  5. GAS
  6. RUS
  7. ALB
  8. NOR
  9. OCO
  10. SAI
  11. LAT
  12. RAI
  13. PER
  14. KVY
  15. STR
  16. GIO
  17. RIC
  18. HAM
  19. GRO
  20. MAG

02:56 PM

Session still red flagged while they deal with Gasly's stricken AlphaTauri

Wouldn't have thought we'll be out of action too much longer, though. 

02:49 PM

Hot hot hot

02:47 PM

RED FLAG

Gasly's AlphaTauri on fire quite badly at the rear. Black smoke now, Gasly gets out of the car pretty sharpish. The marshals cross the track to step in and extinguish the fire. 

02:45 PM

FP2 - Bottas moves top

A 1.17.940s, nearly 0.9s quicker than Leclerc. 

02:44 PM

FP2 - Now Hamilton is on a quick lap

Three tenths up in sector one, but he's impeded by traffic and abandons the lap... again. Meanwhile, Leclerc goes quickest by two tenths ahead of Verstappen. 

02:43 PM

FP2 - Hamilton winding it up for a hot lap

Or is he? Nope. He abandons what looked like a hot lap. Gasly now 0.003s slower than Vettel. Yellow flags out now for Kvyat, who spins again in the final sector. Verstappen now quickest by 0.142s. 

02:41 PM

FP2 - Think Albon had his lap deleted there

As he's slipped back down to P14, 3.5s away. Russell improves with another lap to go within 0.647s of Vettel. Gasly second at the moment, 0.022s off Vettel. All on the medium compound tyres. Wonder if Ferrari could have a good weekend here. There are hints...

02:37 PM

FP2 - Russell goes quickest!

Well, momentarily, as we enter the first meaningful runs of the session on the marked Pirelli tyres. He's soon bettered by Vettel, by nearly 0.9s. And then Albon by a similar margin. 

02:34 PM

FP2 - Quite a lot of track limits breaches today

65 in total in FP1 and Romain Grosjean is warned about going over the limit there in turn one. He says it's "impossible" to do it there. It's not. 

02:30 PM

FP2 - Right, that's the mandatory tyre testing done

So we're onto some proper running for the final hour. 

02:26 PM

FP2 - Hamilton cuts short his run on these prototype tyres

Complaining of vibrations. He's down in fifth at the moment. 

02:22 PM

FP2 - Leclerc goes up to second

0.381s away from Bottas's quickest time. Whatever the tyres, the Ferrari in the hands of Leclerc is looking quite decent. 

02:14 PM

FP2 - Here's the current order

  1. BOT
  2. VER
  3. HAM
  4. LEC
  5. SAI
  6. KVY
  7. ALB
  8. PER
  9. RIC
  10. RAI
  11. VET
  12. NOR
  13. STR
  14. GIO
  15. OCO
  16. GAS
  17. RUS
  18. GRO
  19. MAG
  20. LAT

02:12 PM

FP2 - Grosjean through the gravel

Nothing too serious, however, and he continues. Verstappen up into second behind Bottas is it stands. Sergio Perez has now spun... can he get it going? Yep, he does and goes on his merry way. 

02:10 PM

FP2 - This first 30 minutes is almost purely for Pirelli's benefit

For testing next year's tyres. So there's not really anything we can read into the times. Still, it's not like it's entirely valueless for the drivers and teams. 

02:07 PM

FP2 - Hamilton is currently quickest

Bottas not yet out, he's the only driver not to set a lap time. Everyone else on their fourth of fifth run. I doubt that means it's a problem, though. 

02:06 PM

FP2 - Sainz spins

Not the first and he won't be the last. Every car out on these unmarked tyres, they do not know what compound they are and will obviously be unable to gain too much information on this running regarding the actual tyres. 

02:01 PM

FP2 begins

And out come the cars on unmarked tyres. Quite like that, actually. 

01:45 PM

Tyre testing for the first 30 mins of the session

01:43 PM

Final times after first practice

  1. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1min 18.410secs
  2. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:18.749
  3. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:19.191
  4. Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:19.309
  5. Alexander Albon (Tha) Red Bull 1:19.365
  6. Carlos Sainz (Spa) McLaren 1:19.441
  7. Sergio Perez (Mex) Racing Point 1:19.907
  8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:19.954
  9. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Renault 1:20.058
  10. Pierre Gasly (Fra) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:20.124
  11. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:20.200
  12. Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:20.207
  13. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia AlphaTauri 1:20.278
  14. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:20.846
  15. Lance Stroll (Can) Racing Point 1:20.954
  16. Antonio Giovinazzi (Ita) Alfa Romeo Racing 1:21.009
  17. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:21.169
  18. George Russell (Gbr) Williams 1:21.374
  19. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Renault 1:21.673
  20. Nicholas Latifi (Can) Williams 1:22.054

01:38 PM

Welcome back

FP2 is about to begin in just over 20 minutes and hopefully we will get a good idea of where the teams are in the pecking order. 

11:36 AM

That's it from me for now

I'll be back about 2.30pm for the second practice session which kicks off at 3pm. 

11:33 AM

FP1 - Classification

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. ALB
  6. SAI
  7. PER
  8. SAI
  9. RIC
  10. GAS
  11. VET
  12. NOR
  13. KVY
  14. MAG
  15. STR
  16. GIO
  17. GRO
  18. RUS
  19. OCO
  20. LAT

11:33 AM

Speaking of Ocon, looks like he has a problem

A plume of white smoke comes from the back of his motor. He's told to instantly stop and not to change gear. Not ideal. 

11:31 AM

FP1 ends - Valtteri Bottas quickest ahead of Hamilton

And then Verstappen in third. As you were, then. Plenty of locking up, spinning and mid-corner instability, though. 

11:31 AM

FP1 - Not sure what's going on with Ocon

He has done 30 laps but is currently down in P19. Ah, this will be it - he has only run on the hard tyres. That said he's not the only one and is still behind Russell, Grosjean, Giovinazzi, Albon and Leclerc who have adopted similar strategies. 

11:28 AM

FP1 - Someone in the wall or gravel?

Not quite. Kvyat brings out the yellow flags and ends up facing the wrong direction, causing a cautionary period in sector one. He gets it going and in the right direction in the end. Looks like he lost it at the lowest speed and at the apex at turn three. That has happened an awful lot today. 

11:24 AM

FP1 - Hamilton complains of left graining

He's running on the medium tyres and Bottas — on a similar stint length — is having similar problems on the front. Could we be moving into the realms of a marginal two-stop race? Let's hope so...

11:21 AM

FP1 - 10 minutes to go

As Raikkonen spins at the hairpin turn five. It looked pretty inelegant, I have to say. 

11:16 AM

FP1 - Order with 14 mins remaining

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. LEC
  5. ALB
  6. SAI
  7. PER
  8. RIC
  9. GAS
  10. VET
  11. NOR
  12. KVY
  13. MAG
  14. STR
  15. RAI
  16. GRO
  17. GIO
  18. RUS
  19. OCO
  20. LAT

Two Mercedes, two Red Bulls and a Ferrari in the top six! It's like 2018 all over again. 

11:12 AM

FP1 - Gasly told to box because of an issue

Not ideal but if you want to have an issue then 20 minutes before the end of first practice isn't the worst time. 

Meanwhile, Bottas has pipped Hamilton to top spot again. This time by the slightly larger margin of 0.339s. Verstappen now up to third, 0.842s behind Bottas. That's looking a bit more like normal. 

11:08 AM

FP1 - Hamilton goes quickest

0.143s ahead of Bottas. Verstappen, meanwhile, is back out there on the hard tyres. He's now up to 12th, just as his team-mate Albon moves up to third. A second off the pace. 

11:07 AM

Speed trap data

11:06 AM

FP1 - Bottas and Stroll nearly come together in the final corner

Bottas was finishing off a hot lap towards the inside, Stroll was on the outside and looked to be letting him through but no... he wasn't. It looked close from the onboard on Bottas's car but would like to see a replay of that...

11:03 AM

FP1 - Bottas pops up to first

Just 0.035s ahead of Hamilton. Leclerc 0.162s back. I don't think this session is going to tell us too much, merely giving us a small indication of who looks okay and who is struggling. 

11:00 AM

FP1 - Not much running for Verstappen in the last 30 minutes or so

He went out for a fair few laps early on but has only done 13 laps, the fewest of anyone so far. Down in 19th, too. I expect they're making some significant changes to his set-up. We're a few laps into the medium tyre running after an hour or so of using exclusively hard tyres. 

10:57 AM

FP1 - Track slipperiness update

Yes, still slippy. Latifi and Grosjean having some off-track moments. Hamilton still leads the way from Leclerc and Bottas. 

10:53 AM

A few fans about this weekend, too

Which is nice to see. The total number has been reduced but still a decent amount should be present throughout the weekend. 

10:49 AM

FP1 - A bit of a lull at the moment, so here's the order

  1. HAM
  2. LEC
  3. BOT
  4. SAI
  5. GAS
  6. VET
  7. ALB
  8. PER
  9. NOR
  10. RIC
  11. KVY
  12. GRO
  13. STR
  14. MAG
  15. OCO
  16. RAI
  17. GIO
  18. LAT
  19. RUS
  20. VER

10:42 AM

Plenty of this going on at the moment

10:36 AM

FP1 - Having said that... Leclerc now goes quickest, just 0.035s ahead of Hamilton

Ferrari are, perhaps, just starting to get on top of their problems. At least until we go to a circuit that has any significantly long straights...

10:35 AM

FP1 - Hamilton quickest now

A 1.20.165s, 0.2s ahead of Gasly. Charles Leclerc has a spin and just dips his rear tyres into the gravel. He'll be able to get out, though, and he does just that. He's currently running third, just ahead of Vettel. 

10:31 AM

FP1 - Running order with one hour remaining

Leclerc has knocked Sainz off top spot. 

  1. LEC
  2. BOT
  3. SAI
  4. HAM
  5. GAS
  6. GRO
  7. ALB
  8. VET
  9. OCO
  10. RAI
  11. MAG
  12. GIO
  13. NOR
  14. LAT
  15. RUS
  16. STR
  17. VER
  18. RIC
  19. KVY
  20. PER

10:25 AM

FP1 - Bottas and Hamilton into second and third now

A second or so off Sainz's time. Bottas did not look entirely at peace with the car on the lap, though, and that has been a theme of this session so far. It's a new track surface and fairly slippery. 

10:23 AM

FP1 - Bottas lining up the first Mercedes hot lap

I'm sure it'll be quickest by about a second or something... Hamilton also on his first hot lap but is 2.1s slower than Bottas on his first run. Maybe this won't be quickest from Bottas.

He goes third, actually, 4.742s off the pace. Guess it's going to take a while to really get up to speed. Nobody is within 2.5s of Sainz as we stand. This initial period is all about acclimatisation for the drivers and teams. 

10:19 AM

FP1 - Order so far

This will not tell you anything, as only four cars have set a time. But here we go...

  1. SAI 1.20.696
  2. VER 1.23.309
  3. RUS 1.28.434
  4. VET 1.30.462

10:18 AM

Hulkenberg in the house

What chance of him finding a drive for 2021? Haas? Red Bull? Alfa Romeo?

10:16 AM

FP1 - Verstappen spins!

Nothing major, though, heading out of turn four he gets it the wrong way around, losing the back end. That will not have done wonders for his front tyres. He complains, like Sainz, that his car is like a drift car. 

10:13 AM

FP1 - Not sure if Sainz is testing new parts here

He's now on his seventh lap on the hard tyres and has gone quicker still with a 1.21.497. Only other drivers to set timed laps are Verstappen and Vettel. 

10:10 AM

FP1 - Sainz going around on a decent sized initial run

Five laps so far on the hard tyres and he's quickest with a 1.22.183s. He's complaining of how little grip there is on the circuit, comparing it to Tokyo Drift. 

10:05 AM

FP1 - 84 minutes to go

A handful of cars out early for their installation laps. In fact, only Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas have not been out so far. Sainz currently leads the way with a 1.30.401 but only he and Vettel have set a timed lap so far. 

10:02 AM

FP1 begins!

90 minutes to go. 

10:00 AM

We're nearly ready to go

Think I'm looking forward to this practice session more than any other track this season. 

09:50 AM

Current constructor standings

It's not very tight at the top but it is in the middle. That third spot is hotly contested, with Renault coming into form in the past few races. 

09:41 AM

What will a lap onboard at this track be like?

Well, here's one in virtual form. It gives you a decent impression, I'd say. 

09:36 AM

More on Grosjean and Magnussen leaving Haas

Including reaction from both drivers and team principal Guenther Steiner. Read the whole article here. 

Haas F1's French driver Romain Grosjean attends the official press conference ahead of the Portuguese Formula One Grand Prix at the Algarve international circuit in Portimao on October 22, 2020. - AFP/RUDY CAREZZEVOLI 

09:33 AM

What happened the last time F1 raced in Portugal?

Here's a grainy YouTube video to refresh your memory. 

09:28 AM

Current driver standings after 11 of 17 rounds, top 10

 Only six rounds to go, the time has flown past. 

08:58 AM

Good morning F1 fans

And welcome to our coverage for practice for the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix. It's the first edition of a Formula One race in Portugal since 1996 and we see F1 on a brand new circuit for the second time in 2020. The original calendar had a few new additions — Zandvoort in Holland and the Hanoi Street Circuit in Vietnam — so it will be good to see the cars on an unfamiliar circuit and with limited running data, as was the case at Mugello. The last time F1 cars ran here was over a decade ago, so that data is unlikely to be all that useful to the teams. 

The Autódromo do Algarve is an intriguing circuit with plenty of rolling corners, a couple of tighter ones and a long straight. If these current F1 cars weren't such high-downforce mega beasts then I'd say we could be in for an interesting race. As it is we might just have to settle for the majesty of them wanging their way around the ups and downs at high speed. I guess that might not be so bad?

What are the stories this weekend? Well firstly, Lewis Hamilton will be targeting his 92nd Grand Prix victory. Were he to achieve that — and let's be honest it is by far the most likely result — he will become the most successful driver in F1 history on that metric, overtaking Michael Schumacher's 91. When he scores his seventh world title this season (it's really when not if at the moment...) he will be the de facto most successful F1 driver ever. Does that make him the greatest? No, but that is another debate for another time. 

Elsewhere on the grid, the long-standing partnership between Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen at Haas will be coming to an end after this season finishes, with both drivers not retained for 2021. Grosjean had been with the team since its inception in 2016 whilst Magnussen joined a year later. There was reasonable success for both drivers and the team in 2017 and 2018 but the last two years have been difficult in the extreme, especially this year.

Where will both men end up? The number of available seats for next year is quite limited, so there is a good chance but will leave the F1 grid. It wouldn't be the worst thing if Magnussen followed in his father's footsteps and going into endurance racing. What it means, though, is that those drivers without confirmed seats (Nico Hulkenberg, Sergio Perez, Callum Ilott) could be quite keen to move to the American team for 2021.