Hamilton and Mercedes take aim at breakable F1 records in Portugal

Lewis Hamilton and his Mercedes team can make Formula One history on Sunday as Portugal returns for the first time in 24 years on a calendar reshaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The six times world champion equalled Ferrari great Michael Schumacher's record 91 grand prix victories in the previous race at the Nuerburgring and now has his first opportunity to go one better.

Mercedes meanwhile have their first chance to seal an unprecedented seventh successive constructors' title, although they may have to wait another weekend for the inevitable to be confirmed.

The champions will need to score 40 points more than closest rivals Red Bull for that to happen at Portimao's undulating Algarve International Circuit, which is hosting a grand prix for the first time.

Red Bull have drawn a blank twice in 11 races so far this season while Hamilton has won seven times and Finnish teammate Valtteri Bottas, now 69 points behind in the standings with six races to go, twice.

Mercedes have scored 40 points or more in six of the races, with three one-two finishes, but on all those occasions Red Bull managed to take at least 15.

Hamilton has done well at circuits new to the calendar in the past and has won twice this year at tracks that would not have featured but for the pandemic.

While the Portuguese track is a novelty for F1, some drivers have raced or tested there on their way to the top. Hamilton tested in the Algarve with McLaren in 2009 while Bottas raced there in Formula Three, as did Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

“The circuit is probably new to a lot of the guys with a few of them having experience there in junior levels,” said Lando Norris, who did a two-day test there in 2017 in a 2011 McLaren.