[Moto] HAMILTON REACHS THE 1ST PLACE FINALLY!

[The GodFather]

 

The seven-time world champion set the fastest time in the second free practice session on Friday at the Portuguese Grand Prix circuit.

He put an end to an anomaly: the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) dominated his very first free practice of the Formula 1 season in Portimao, at the Portuguese Grand Prix, on Friday afternoon. With a stopwatch of 1 min 19 sec 837/1000 during the second session, in windy conditions which made life difficult for everyone, the Mercedes driver was placed 143/1000 ahead of the Dutchman Max Verstappen (Red Bull) and 344/1000 ahead of Finnish Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes). In the morning, the latter two had traded first place, Bottas finishing ahead in 1 min 19 sec 648/1000, only 25/1000 better than Verstappen.

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As expected, it is therefore the emerging duel of 2021, Hamilton against the Dutchman of Red Bull, which takes shape for the third round of the championship on the hilly circuit of the Algarve, where F1 has only raced once. last October. With a success each, the two are almost equal in the world championship, with a small point in advance for the Briton (that of the best lap of the GP of Emilia-Romagna). In qualifying, they are also one pole each. For Hamilton, already record holder of the year, it would be ... 100th if he finished ahead of Saturday at 3:00 p.m. local (4:00 p.m. French)! Before that, you will have to go through free practice 3 at 12:00 (13:00).

"We look very close, I think it will be tight," anticipates the Briton, who adds all the same to still have some under the pedal. “I don't know how Max's turn went, but mine wasn't perfect,” he says. The car can be even faster and there are improvements that can be made. But I'm sure that's the case (with Red Bull) as well. ” “It still looks tight with Mercedes, abounds Verstappen. The feelings are not bad but there is always work to be done. " "Whoever will gain the most time during the night will be on pole", concludes Bottas.

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Behind, Ferrari rather than McLaren emerges as the third force, with Monegasque Charles Leclerc 4th in the morning and Spaniard Carlos Sainz Jr in the same place in the afternoon. Spearhead of the British team at the start of the season, the Englishman Lando Norris recognizes "being in a fight on certain portions of the track" and points to another threat: Alpine, with the Spaniard Fernando Alonso and the French Esteban Ocon, 5th and 6th in free practice 2. "We're in a good position (but) it's going to be a close battle, given how close the lap times are," Ocon notes. His compatriot Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 11th in FP2, believes that his car has "difficulties in all areas compared to usual".

Silence on social networks
Off-piste, don't plan to follow all the action this weekend on social media. Hamilton, champion of the fight against racism in F1, Leclerc, Verstappen, Bottas, Lando Norris, George Russell and Esteban Ocon joined the boycott movement launched by English football. Their goal: to protest online hatred. Formula 1, for its part, told AFP on Thursday to support this action without participating, unlike UEFA, the governing body of European football, or the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Insults and insults towards football players on social networks have multiplied by 4.5 since September 2019, Manchester United denounced Friday. 86% of the targeted publications included racist slurs and 8% were homophobic or transphobic.