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His second run was only good enough for third, around 0.4s off the pace, with his Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez running shotgun in fourth.
Carlos Sainz was best of the rest in fifth, the Ferrari driver needing softs to get through to Q3 after a mistake on his medium run in Q2 but getting it together when it mattered, edging Esteban Ocon’s Alpine by just 0.003s.
Lando Norris failed to replicate his impressive pace in the first two segments of qualifying, when he troubled the top three, ending up seventh for the third straight race – but that was well clear of McLaren team mate Daniel Ricciardo who made a surprise exit in Q1.
F1: Lewis Hamilton wins the Portuguese Grand Prix
The 2021 Formula One season promised a battle between Mercedes and Red Bull and it delivered just that in Portugal. Lewis Hamilton won a race he led for 34 of 66 laps.
Lewis Hamilton might have dropped to third but drove well to seal the win
In a thrilling team battle that is likely a sign of things to come for the rest of the season, Mercedes and Red Bull split the top four spots in a tight and tactical race.
After an exciting back and forth with Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton ended up top of the podium. The Briton, who dropped to third at one point, sealed a win thanks in part to Valtteri Bottas ability to hold off Verstappen for long periods of the race.
With Sebastian Vettel pointing out that Lance Stroll has a "different spec" in Portugal, Ralf Schumacher says that's because the faster driver gets preference.
A brilliantly managed race from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton saw him take his second win of the 2021 season at the Portuguese Grand Prix, the Briton finishing ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, as Hamilton’s polesitting team mate Valtteri Bottas came home third.
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His second run was only good enough for third, around 0.4s off the pace, with his Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez running shotgun in fourth.
Carlos Sainz was best of the rest in fifth, the Ferrari driver needing softs to get through to Q3 after a mistake on his medium run in Q2 but getting it together when it mattered, edging Esteban Ocon’s Alpine by just 0.003s.
Lando Norris failed to replicate his impressive pace in the first two segments of qualifying, when he troubled the top three, ending up seventh for the third straight race – but that was well clear of McLaren team mate Daniel Ricciardo who made a surprise exit in Q1.