Designed by Portuguese Ricardo Pena, the track layout of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve surprises even the most experienced in Formula 1. Peeking at the track from the stands impresses, but it is on the asphalt that you feel the vertigo of the ups and downs, even if you’re driving at less than 50 km/h.
Sebastian Vettel arrives in Portimão after a season to forget, but he believes that this track can mean the “turning point in his season”, because, he says, he wants to leave Ferrari with “dignity”. But why can this track, a novelty in this year’s world championships, be a window of opportunity? The former world champion has no doubts. Not only does the layout make what will happen in Algarve, but the drivers here have a good opportunity to have fun.
“The track looks like a roller coaster, with many ups and downs,” they explain on the sidelines of the race in statements to TSF. I believe that this test can mark, for me, a turning point, to achieve a good result that will make me grow for the remaining events in a season that is being really difficult”, he adds.
And the first laps on the roller coaster didn’t go wrong. He had a good time, among the best in his first free practice. “The circuit definitely looks very challenging. there are ups and downs, lots of blind curves, lots of points without visibility. It will take a while to get to know the track, but tracks like this are always very fun for those in the car”, explains Vettel.
The Portuguese Grand Prix is a novelty imposed by the pandemic. Some races scheduled at the beginning of the year were cancelled, forcing the organization to find solutions among the racetracks that aspire to a place among the usual choices in the Formula 1 calendar.
Read more in TSF
