The Portuguese Grand Prix is slated to take place on the 25th of October 2020, after the Eifel Grand Prix. It was a popular racing track in the 80s and 90s,but it has been bought back in the 2020 calendar - this time at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão, to help the sport fill its calendar in light of other races being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race to be held would be the first Grand Prix for this venue.
Alain Prost has won the Portuguese Grand Prix thrice, along with Nigell Mansell. As a constructor, Williams Racing has won the Grand Prix 6 times, followed by Mclaren 3 times.
As things stand, F1 comes back after a short break – the last race having won by Bottas in Russia. Lewis Hamilton still leads the driver’s championship by 44 points, and it is expected that he will be returning to form in the Eifel Grand Prix. Interestingly, the Portuguese Grand Prix is expected to see 45,000 fans attend the race everyday.
Miguel Praia, the circuit's event and commercial director, said that there had been huge interest ever since it became clear the GP would be open to spectators. He said,” In the first week we went online with our ticket sales, it was crazy. Formula 1 is so popular in Portugal and the fans are very eager to attend the event as F1 returns to our country.”
"At the moment we have sold over 30,000 seats already and 95% of our corporate boxes are sold out. Now the summer holidays have ended, we expect sales to pick up again with a final boost."
He has promised, "We know this is a one-time opportunity at the moment, however we will do our best to make this a very special event for the teams, sponsors, the organisers and the fans to enjoy our facilities and to enjoy the Algarve”.
The Portuguese GP is scheduled for the 23-25 October as the first leg of a double-header with Imola (31 October-1 November) which hosts its first F1 grand prix since 2006.
