Start, Autodromo do Algarve, 2020

Vote for your 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend

2020 Portuguese Grand Prix

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Which Formula One driver made the most of the Portuguese Grand Prix weekend?

It’s time to give your verdict on which driver did the best with the equipment at their disposal over the last three days.

Review how each driver got on below and vote for who impressed you the most at Autodromo do Algarve.

Driver performance summary

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Vote for your driver of the weekend

Which driver do you think did the best job throughout the race weekend?

Who got the most out of their car in qualifying and the race? Who put their team mate in the shade?

Cast your vote below and explain why you chose the driver you picked in the comments.

Who was the best driver of the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix weekend?

  • No opinion (1%)
  • Nicholas Latifi (0%)
  • George Russell (1%)
  • Kevin Magnussen (0%)
  • Romain Grosjean (0%)
  • Antonio Giovinazzi (0%)
  • Kimi Raikkonen (9%)
  • Lance Stroll (0%)
  • Sergio Perez (13%)
  • Pierre Gasly (17%)
  • Daniil Kvyat (0%)
  • Esteban Ocon (0%)
  • Daniel Ricciardo (0%)
  • Lando Norris (0%)
  • Carlos Sainz Jnr (6%)
  • Alexander Albon (0%)
  • Max Verstappen (1%)
  • Charles Leclerc (19%)
  • Sebastian Vettel (0%)
  • Valtteri Bottas (0%)
  • Lewis Hamilton (32%)

Total Voters: 268

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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64 comments on “Vote for your 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend”

  1. Can’t decide between Kimi, Checo, Gasly or Lewis.

  2. Ladies and gentlemen, Kimi prevails yet again.

    1. @huhhii

      He’s got 7% of the votes.. and he finished outside of the points in this race. He had a brilliant lap 1 and then moved backwards. What a great feat!

      1. He brought his Alfa at a place it didn’t belong and made it look like he was playing an arcade game on “easy” setting (link here for those who haven’t seen it). That was always going to be a race backwards from that point and not much defending possible with such an effective DRS.

        Yes, one lap is a bit short to award DotW but on the other hand some drivers get it because they make a mistake then climb back up and recover, that still one mistake more than what Kimi did.

        Still a hard call between Kimi, Perez, Gasly or Lewis. I am ranking Perez a bit below, I think the incident was avoidable even if he is not entirely to blame and he managed to finish where he did by hanging there and not fighting his way through (unlike the other 3). Racing Point definitely had a very strong car here and Stroll in the other one didn’t really show where it belonged either.

        1. @jeanrien

          I did see his lap 1 onboard.. and no doubt it was one of the best first laps I’ve ever seen. My point is that if we were awarding DOTW for just lap 1 performance then Sainz should be up there with Kimi for the win.

          Over the entire race weekend, Perez, Gasly, Leclerc and Hamilton were significantly better than Kimi.

          1. @todfod Popularity is a horrible measurement for goodness of something. Michael Jackson’s Thriller is all-time best selling record, but ask from any music critic out there and they can name countless albums with more artistic value. So Kimi’s percentages doesn’t really matter.

            What were you expecting him to do with that Sauber when DRS was as overpowered as it was yesterday? He kept Vettel behind for a very long time with old tires and finished ahead of Albon. Also beat his team mate comfortably. I can’t see what more Kimi could’ve done.

            I can see the case for Leclerc being DOTW but not for others than him and Kimi.

          2. @todfod I get your point, mine is just that due to this one astonishing lap, Kimi cannot showcase anymore during the race as the car is poor and driving it to its max can’t prevent other overtaking him, ie. thanks to that one lap he definitely maximised the possible outcome of his race. We know how valuable grid position is, and how difficult it is to maintain position (except maybe in Monaco or such).

            Perez fell down where Kimi succeeded, then was out of place and the only way was forward. RP had tremendous pace this weekend and should have been higher than 6th. 11th with the Alfa (and a single retirement) is a better result than 6th with the RP.

            Note, I didn’t include Gasly, Leclerc or Hamilton as their performances resulted in great drive and not a recovery from a costly mistake (or avoidable situation if we consider this a racing incident).

            I just want to highlight that initially I was reluctant to give Kimi DotW because of one lap, but actually this one lap is preventing him from doing anything more to make a case for himself…

        2. I’ve seen it, but watched it again, very nice.

          I was wondering why the front-runners were having more problems with the tires. I thought it was maybe they have to wait longer, standing still before the lights go out
          (I know who was on soft and medium :-))
          But Verstappen especially had problems with his tires, the Mclarens were much better… Kimi had to wait the shortest amount of time, maybe that was a advantage

    2. Yes, raikkonen was great, especially at his age and with that car, voted for him even though we’re in the 9% that voted him.

      Also definitely hamilton, leclerc and perez got the most out of their car, hamilton destroying bottas, leclerc destroying vettel, but really, I wouldn’t compare him with vettel any more, let’s just say he drove a not so great ferrari to a position (4th) where he just couldn’t have done any better, considering only mercedes and vers were ahead, and perez having a good recovery with a midfield car.

  3. A Lewis Hamilton masterclass. Poll with cunning, navigated the race start well with the cold tyres (what happened to Verstappen on the softs? poor effort today Max), launched a great attack on Bottas and then handled the rest of the race in tricky conditions brilliantly. Leclerc a strong second.

    1. navigated the race start well with the cold tyres

      Not quite.. he botched his start and did not got the tires to work for some time.

      (what happened to Verstappen

      same problem. Only after his tires worked he could fight for position. His start was great but the two slippery corners combined with the rather stupid action by Perez cost him a lot of time and places.

      But past all that..
      Lewis took off from the moment his tires reached the window and disappeared on the Horizon.
      Kimi did great, 6th after the start.
      Gasly did great..
      Perez fought his way back but the race was two laps to long for him.
      Leclerc put his Ferrari on a place, the car does not deserved.

      1. erikje, true, I didn’t explain ‘navigate’, I meant he avoided deeper trouble on the cold tyres, not defending against Bottas for example and waiting to repass later. It’s that cool decision making that keeps him out of collisions, allowing the chances to come to him later.

    2. Hamilton only has to race one other car. He got overtaken by it, then took back his position, end of story. Maybe he drove brilliantly, I don’t know, it’s hard to give a masterclass in a two-race car. He beat Bottas again is all we can say for sure.

      1. *two-car race :)

      2. He didn’t just beat Bottas – he finished half a minute up the road. That’s absolute domination in F1 terms and you know it.

      3. @krommenaas All you can say for sure maybe. However Wolff, engineering director Shovlin and others in the team had access to the data (and understood what we could all theoretically see) showing how Hamilton was making big pace gains relative to Bottas while keeping his tyres in a better state. If you’re the best and at the front in a car you’ve helped develop to the best, that’s mostly what you’re going to get to see – Hamilton driving at or near the front. It doesn’t mean it’s impossible to tell, just that it’s not an obvious charge through the field (which are mostly circumstantial differentials in power or grip anyhow, unless wet weather). Plenty of races Hamilton has one have been simply good or good enough to win. This was a standout performance though, even if there were only two cars in it.

  4. Perez cut through the field as if he were Ayrton Senna himself. Stellar job!

    1. Perez went 65 laps on a set of tyres and still finished in the points. Awesome drive.

      1. Except that he didn’t. Perez stopped twice, both times for mediums (although the 2nd set might have been a used one). I guess the team wanted to make sure he would make it to the end and score some valuable points.
        Kimi on the other hand completed 54 laps on a set of mediums. Unfortunately, the tyres were going away in the final couple of laps, which meant Kimi couldn’t stay with Vettel anymore.

        1. The second time they put softs. Thats the reason he lost two places at the end.

        2. I stand corrected but now more confident in my vote for Perez. I figured he couldn’t have had a 2 stop race and finished so high but with 2 stops his finish is more impressive.

          1. Not only was he taken out but also had a flat tyre. He was beyond dead last.

  5. I’ll go with Leclerc, Hamilton or Perez. All three did great jobs.

    1. What about Gasly?

      1. And KIMI!!

  6. Lots of strong performances, including first lap heroics from Sainz and Kimi, and qualifying heroics from Leclerc. But gave my vote to Gasly for excellent pace and tyre management despite the disadvantage of having to start on the softs. Was also patient and measured in his many on track battles as he realized he had the long game advantage on the more durable hards in the second stint.

  7. Vettel! Nope, just joking. Gave it to Carlos for a superb opening lap when everyone else was falling off the track, and a strong race. Could also easily have gone for Perez, Leclerc, Gasly or Hamilton.

  8. Whilst Checo, Charles, amd and Pierre all had great races, this one undeniably has to go to the man of the moment, Lewis Hamilton.

    He pulled out a stunner whenit mattered to out-qualify his teammate, despite the teammate posting the fastest times for all sectors in the circuit over the weekend.

    He displayed strategic nous by not fighting Bottas at the beginning when he had no grip, and let him past knowing he had the skill and ability to fight him later.

    He preserved his tyres excellently, and could have gone further than lap 40 when he was called in. He managed the warm up issues with the Hard tyre perfectly, set the fastest lap on the way, and built a 25sec gap to his teammate to win the race and beat Schumacher’s record in a magestirial manner.

    On the basis of this weekend’s performance, and in light of the record books, it is hard to argue anyone else deserves it more.

    DOTW Lewis Carl Hamilton.

    1. I could not have said it better!!

  9. isaac (@invincibleisaac)
    25th October 2020, 21:05

    Gave it to Raikkonen. He had a mega 1st lap – went from 16th-6th! And genuinely had good pace – was close behind RIC for the majority of the race but just missed out on a point. Well ahead of his team-mate, and whilst; HAM, PER, LEC and GAS all did well I personally think this was a stand out drive from Kimi, who otherwise hasn’t had such a great season.

    1. Er.. 16th to 4th.

      1. He was never 4th…

        1. On the first lap I meant.

    2. I don’t think the start itself was very good – I lost a place – but then after that honestly I thought at one point ‘what are the others doing’?

      What a legend @invincibleisaac He didn’t get the memo that the track was slippery.
      Probably the best start from his career. And he drove well afterwards as well, superb wheel-to-wheel action.

  10. The great thing about this weekend was, we got a lot to like from many drivers. Sainz and his first lap. Which was only bettered by that endless overtaking lap from Kimi. We got a good drive from Gasly through the field (be it seriously aided by DRS), and a great save from him to avoid crashing into a blocking Perez too.
    Norris was driving quite well too, really liked his defence against Verstappen, for the time it lasted. Shame about Stroll really, maybe the neurological aftereffects of Covid-19 are having an effect on Lance?

    Even Vettel showed us something to be happy about and from the battles in the lower places between the likes of Kvyat, Russel, Giovanazzi and Grosjean that we only got to see when the timing screens flashed up, it seems the race was really solid back there too.

    Meanwhile Leclerc showed that there is some pace to be found in the Ferrari at least for him by quietly slipping into P4 on the grid and then as smoothly and almost unseen bring the car home in that same position. That should be worthy of a vote for driver of the weekend.
    Perez had a good start, then got punted off by Verstappen, and had a worthy drive back up with solid moves to get forward, especially the figth with Ocon showed that overtaking here did not happen just with DRS drive bys.

    But really is there any argument good enough not to vote for Hamilton? He drove another super fast lap to claim this pole. Then once the tyres settled in he just started pouncing, passed Bottas and was gone on the road. In the end he showed he knows best how to get the best out of that car and out of the tyres with blistering fast laps at the end of this epic record of races won.

    1. Very good assessment, can’t argue with anything you’ve said! I went for Gasly, but like you say – a number of drivers were great, and Hamilton is equally worthy of a vote

    2. Sad to see some of these great first laps ruined by DRS afterwards. Passing was, yet again, too easy.

      1. Had it not been for DRS Perez would have kept 5th place.

  11. Hamilton was by far the driver of the day and weekend. What people don’t really appreciate about Hamilton is the way he can track a car in dirty air without ruining his tyres.
    Look at how leader Bottas ruined his tyres by going to fast into the corners.
    Lewis waited patiently and swooped past. A real master class for his 92 historic victory. Respect to the efforts of Gasley and Leclarc.

    1. It’s hard to appreciate when his car is so dominant. Sunday drive for Lewis really. Bottas is no match for Lewis.

  12. Gasly vanquished Perez and several others.
    Kimi, in his last row car, passed Max for p4 on the 4th lap, showed Sainz the way mid-race, and finished ahead of the other RB.

    1. He will surely be at Renault next season.

  13. Went for Kimi though there was a lot of very fine work done today by almost all the drivers.
    Good race overall.

  14. Last race no real standout performances but this time lot!
    Leclerc, Gasly, Sainz and Raikonen all did extremely well but in the end it has to be Hamilton.

  15. My ratings:
    Lewis Hamilton 10
    Valtteri Bottas 7
    Charles Leclerc 10
    Sebastian Vettel 6
    Max Verstappen 8
    Alexander Albon 4
    Carlos Sainz 8
    Lando Norris 7
    Daniel Ricciardo 7
    Esteban Ocon 8
    Pierre Gasly 10
    Daniil Kvyat 5
    Sergio Perez 9
    Lance Stroll 4
    Kimi Raikkonen 10
    Antonio Giovinazzi 7
    Romain Grosjean 7
    Kevin Magnussen 6
    George Russell 8
    Nicholas Latifi 6

    Four perfect scores this weekend, the most since China 2017.

  16. Carlos Seinz, for most entertaining opening. Just amazing.

  17. It’s actually a really difficult one this week (which is a good thing) as a number of drivers did brilliantly and you could argue for all of them.
    I went for Gasly in the end, he’s been working wonders with that car and 5th is an unbelievable result (especially compared to Kvyat). It’s been some comeback this year, and really hope he can keep building in the next few years to come.
    Leclerc had a superb qualifying which he went on to convert in the race. Hamilton (as always) was brilliant, a well fought pole then a crushing win against his teammate. Kimi, an unbelievable start and did well to keep pace for the rest of the race.
    Feel Verstappen is getting a bit harshly treated in the comments, he lapped his teammate (admittedly Albon!) but clearly third was the most he was going to get out of it today. Not his best day, but nowhere near a bad performance

  18. DOTD: Lewis Hamilton undoubtedly
    DOTW:Charles Leclerc for me

  19. Charles Leclerc keeps driving like a seasoned veteran. What a performance once again. He appears to be wringing the maximum out of the car, very Alonso-esque in some ways.

    Having said all this, my vote goes to Lewis. Totally crushing performance. He made the right call on Saturday, and wiped the floor with his teammate on Sunday. A body (and mind) blow to Bottas, I don’t see him recovering from this. To be passed by your teammate and then end up finishing a pit-stop behind, that is brutal.

    This is the kind of performance that elevates Lewis into the pantheon of the greats.

    PS: I am not a Hamilton fan by any means.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      26th October 2020, 12:47

      @jaymenon10 Ferrari is running 2 teams this year under the name Ferrari. It’s impossible to tell if Leclerc is driving well when the car is capable of pole positions.

  20. My pick goes to the best racecar his daddy could buy for him. Daddy get me a better car. This pink one isn’t any good anymore
    I want a black car daddy. Get me one now. Yeah I picked what’s his name

    1. I think Lance does well usually. May be he needs to keep his cool a bit more.

      Any daddy that loves his son damn much would do what the Strolls are doing. Nothing wrong with being rich and nothing wrong with doing what’s legal.

      1. One Path to meeting Life’s goals…

        I admire a man more by the test of his challenge to accomplish his goals.

        Another Path…

        I think less of a man who depends on his daddy’s money to open the door of opportunity.

        Conclusion

        Seems like one path creates similar opportunity but in a way that Truly Disgusts racefans who have seen this issue too many times before in life.

        Just like that cart kid and his old mans money. Buy the kid a cart but also buy the track he will race on…. there are others

        All because of Daddy’s money

        That’s my opinion

  21. DOTD – Lewis.
    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

    Nobody had a chance. Total annihilation by the GOAT!

  22. I thought it was a close one between Gasly, Perez, Hamilton and Leclerc.
    I thought Perez’s drive was remarkable… but he has to be partly to blame for his lap 1 incident.

    Gasly was solid through out the race and gradually climbed himself in front of Sainz and Perez. Really solid drive.

    Hamilton was stellar on Saturday and untouchable on Sunday after the first dozen or so laps. Was really difficult not to give him the vote.. the only blemish on his perfect weekend was an uninspiring first quarter of the race.

    Leclerc was the star of qualifying.. and punched above the Ferrari’s weight to finish in P4 in the race. The margin of domination over his teammate this weekend was ridiculous. So gave him my vote.

    1. the only blemish on his perfect weekend was an uninspiring first quarter of the race

      To be fair, reading some of the comments post-race, it seems like it was actually Lewis just being incredibly clever. He basically admits to not fighting Bottas when he was overtaken and just concentrating on getting the tires into a decent operating window. Everything about his driving this weekend was a masterclass.

  23. DOTW: LEC
    DOTD: GAS

  24. petebaldwin (@)
    26th October 2020, 11:49

    Leclerc for F1.5 Verstappen dominated as usual but it wasn’t his cleanest race. Leclerc was really impressive.
    Hamilton for F1 although it seems a bit silly to repeatedly say “Hamilton is better than Bottas.” Still, he was so he gets the vote.

  25. Charles Leclerc, of course.
    With a car that is very bad he achieves amazing results.
    Hamilton races in another category so I don’t take it into account.
    The only current driver to race in the Fangio / Clark / Stewart / Prost / Lauda / Schumacher category.

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      26th October 2020, 13:07

      @jorge-lardons how is P4 good with a winning car? Any finishing position chosen by Ferrari is just ok. I don’t follow how one of the quickest cars is require to go slower this year and people are impressed by the results. Leclerc qualified 0.8 seconds ahead of Vettel, right?

  26. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    26th October 2020, 12:59

    I’m actually stunned that folks believe on this website would ever believe that Leclerc is light years quicker than Vettel and that Vettel’s car can barely mount an overtake on an Alfa Romeo while Leclerc’s is clearly able at times to compete with the big boys. Sure, Leclerc is quick and faster than Vettel in the Ferrari but if anyone believes that Vettel is that slow really needs to do a reality check. The Ferrari can easily beat the Mercedes on many tracks as we saw last year. That’s the exact same car, right? Ferrari has simply turned down the performance at their discretion and one car is probably given the power it needs to compete when it needs it along with more power. Has anyone noticed that Vettel hasn’t spun lately? You know why that happened? He compressed 3 years of F1 driver training between races. Just kidding, obviously he’s not doing anything different but even Ferrari thought it was too much to keep doing that…

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      26th October 2020, 21:29

      Lol, turns out I’m right from the man himself. I was ok with the FIA concealing the cheating and allowing Ferrari to pay the penalty through lower performance. I’m not sure I’m ok with that now. I hope Todd and Brawn give Ferrari the treatment they deserve. Leclerc seems like a nice kid and I doubt he’s ok with what’s going on. He also deserves a better team.

  27. Lec. Ham was in control but their car has active suspension so they have at least .5 on anyone else.

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