Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes seek to continue their record-making progress as Formula One escapes in search of some autumnal sunshine at this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix.
Two weeks after shivering at the Nurburgring where the six-time champion drew level with Michael Schumacher on 91 wins, the travelling circus hopes also to avoid any contact with the growing second wave of COVID-19 across Europe.
The local organisers of the race, which marks Portugal’s return to the calendar for the first time in 24 years, said there will be 27,500 spectators at the track each day under strictly-controlled conditions.
Major attraction
The lure of seeing Hamilton win a record 92nd race and Mercedes take an unprecedented seventh constructors’ championship is a major attraction, though the team’s triumph and celebrations are likely to be delayed by at least a week to the Emilia Romagna GP at Imola.
Hamilton has a simple goal to claim his record win, but Mercedes needs to outscore Red Bull by 40 points, a feat that would require a near perfect showing and a flop from Max Verstappen.
