Hamilton expecting a battle with Bottas and Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton achieved his 97th pole position in F1 at Portimao. The reigning World Champion seemed to be a second behind Valtteri Bottas for a long time, but in the end, he managed to set the fastest time. He did so on the medium tire and not on the softest tire, which is normally used during the final part of qualifying.

"I think it is the right decision. Valtteri has been extremely fast all weekend and it was extremely difficult to improve times and in the end the softest tire could only last a lap. We had the time and space to go out with the medium and drive several laps, so we did that too,”explained Hamilton in front of the camera at Ziggo Sport.

Hamilton, therefore, starts today from first place, with Valtteri Bottas next to him and Max Verstappen just behind. Rain could be a possible factor, but Hamilton is not looking forward to it. "Normally I would like it, but I can't say I feel like having rain here. It's already a very tricky track and very slippery. If it does rain, at least it can cause a lot of excitement."

Red Bull in a battle with Mercedes?

If it's up to the reigning world champion, victory on Sunday won't just be a battle between himself and Bottas. "I think Max can also play a role. They have really made progress in the last couple of races. During qualifying they were only two tenths behind and in the race the gap is often smaller. I think it's going to be difficult with them.

"Somehow they are very strong, even more than usual this weekend. In the last race it was difficult to keep him behind me, so I expect it will be even harder today. It will be fun, I'm sure," Hamilton concluded.