Three years ago, at the wheel of the Toyota with which he would win his first Le Mans victory,

Fernando Alonso

completed almost 36 hours of practice in Portimao. However, this weekend, the two-time F1 world champion is considered a "rookie" on that same track. A year ago,

Carlos Sainz led

the Portuguese GP for four laps before being relegated to sixth place, more than half a minute

behind Charles Leclerc

, his current Ferrari teammate. "If I have seen something during the first two races, it is that I am not slower than him in any corner," says the Madrid native now.

"I know that if I get a good full lap I can be up. Now it's about focusing on how to achieve it," continued Sainz, frustrated for the same reason as the Spaniard. The lack of filming during the preseason, by mandate of the FIA, weighs too much on all rookies. Also to

Sergio Pérez

at Red Bull or

Daniel Ricciardo

at McLaren. Faced with this difficulty, Sainz clings to the memory of 2020, with that fabulous comeback with soft tires on wet asphalt. From seventh place on the grid to take the lead.

During that race at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve we were able to enjoy 58 overtaking, a record for the 2020 World Championship. The intermittent rain of the first laps and the sinuous undulations of the track enhanced the show.

Many pilots still remember with a knot in the stomach the combinations between turns 8 and 9, linked with 11 and 12.

"I will need to catch up"

"The slopes are not very pronounced, with a maximum of 8-10% of maximum unevenness. On the other hand, there are uphill and downhill areas with sections of 16%", says

Jarno Zaffelli

, designer of a route that he himself defines as " a roller coaster".

Perhaps only Spa-Francorchamps -with 102.2 meters of unevenness- and Spielberg -63.5 meters- can compete in this regard.

"It's going to be difficult for sure, because it's another new circuit. Most of the grid raced here five months ago, so I'll need to catch up quickly in free practice," predicted Alonso, without blushing to admit that he is still there. in an adaptation phase.

"It is about fine-tuning the style and the driving sensation," specified the Spaniard, who has known this Autodromo almost from its inception.

"Very tight with McLaren"

Inaugurated at the end of 2008 after a disbursement of 195 million euros, that same winter it already hosted the official F1 tests.

In fact, Renault presented in society its R29, the last car under the banner of

Flavio Briatore

.

More than a decade later, Alonso can only be entrusted to the improvements of the A521.

The

feeling

with the car, in search of the limits, also seems essential for Sainz, who predicts a scenario "very similar" to that of Imola and Bahrain.

"There is a very long straight here and then an intermediate section with many corners, where we performed decently. If I had to bet, what you saw in the first two races is what you will see here. It's going to be very tight with McLaren." , analyzed the Ferrari driver.

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