Why F1’s overdue Portugal return matters

The return of the Portuguese Grand Prix gives me goosebumps. In 1985 I watched Ayrton Senna claim his first grand prix victory at Estoril on TV, at a time when I was going through difficult decisions about my own future. For a couple of hours, I lost myself in the majesty of his driving in appallingly wet conditions, thrilled to see Lotus win for the first time since 1982.

Three years later I competed in a support race at the 1988 GP. Estoril was a fabulous circuit to drive - fast and challenging, and at that particular event a key moment occurred in the ever-fermenting relationship between Senna and Alain Prost, in their first season as team-mates at McLaren.

Unusually, Prost qualified ahead of Senna - but the Brazilian was in a determined mood at the start, cheered on by fans who spoke his language. Side by side into the first corner, Senna turned in and Prost had to back out.

Then a red flag meant they had to go again, and once more Senna chopped across in aggressive style to claim the advantage.

Everyone expected Ayrton to disappear into the distance, but Prost had other ideas. As they came back onto the main straight, the Frenchman picked up the tow and pulled alongside. Senna reacted by squeezing him towards the pit wall; it was a heart-stopping moment and mechanics were hauling pit boards in to avoid contact.

Prost kept his focus and made it through into the lead. He would go on to take victory, but afterwards was still fuming about Senna's aggressive tactics: "If Ayrton wants the championship that much, he can have it. That was unacceptable."

Until that race the relationship had shown strain, but it was controlled. After that race it was all-out conflict and, as we know, there were plenty more dramas to come. Yet what struck me that day, watching from the roof of a truck in the support paddock, was a fantastic second place for 25-year-old Ivan Capelli in the Leyton House March.

The first F1 car to be designed by Adrian Newey ran a normally aspirated Judd V8 engine, as opposed to the turbocharged motors in the McLarens and Ferraris, yet Capelli qualified third, ahead of Gerhard Berger's Ferrari. In the race Capelli was able to pass Senna, who found himself limited by high fuel consumption.

It was a stunning result for a small team, and the first glimpse of Newey's technical prowess which is still having an impact today with Red Bull. Ivan achieved just three podiums in his 93-race career, and it was a privilege to witness one of them.

"Portimao is a tricky track because it has many blind corners and hairpins. It's not a flat track where you know where all the references are. But then we are talking about the best drivers in the world and they'll learn quickly" Filipe Albuquerque

There have been other key moments in Portugal; in the 1984 season finale Prost won the Estoril race, but Niki Lauda clinched the title by half a point with a battling drive. On the street track of Porto in 1958, Stirling Moss was such a gentleman in defending Mike Hawthorn's actions when he went off that he effectively handed his rival the championship.

PLUS: The greatest Portuguese GP moments

The first year I commentated on F1 for Eurosport, my current booth companion David Coulthard scored his maiden F1 win at Estoril in 1995, beating Michael Schumacher. Jacques Villeneuve replaced DC at Williams in 1996 and took the final victory to date.

Following in the footsteps of Estoril, Porto and Monsanto Park in Lisbon, the Autodromo do Algarve, near Portimao, becomes the fourth venue in the country to host a grand prix. There are similarities to Estoril, as the layout combines fast and slow corners but with even more elevation change.

Portugal's Filipe Albuquerque, a former member of the Red Bull junior programme, winner of the LMP2 class at this year's Le Mans 24 Hours, and a front runner in the World Endurance Championship, raced at the venue's first international single-seater event in April 2009 with A1GP.

"Portimao is a tricky track because it has many blind corners and hairpins," he says. "It's not a flat track where you know where all the references are. But then we are talking about the best drivers in the world and they'll learn quickly! What will be interesting to see is how the new asphalt that they have put down for this event affects things. It will help traction for sure."

Sitting in Portugal's south west corner, with surf from the Atlantic rolling onto beaches nearby, wind speed and direction can be a factor. The main grandstand provides a windbreak for some sections but a sudden transition from shelter to gusts in others.

Reviving the grand prix has created a buzz across the nation. F1 coverage has been behind a paywall in Portugal for a while, but now the country is hosting a race again, news coverage of the 2020 season has expanded.

"Having Formula 1 returning to the country, there is a lot of interest amongst the fans," Albuquerque confirms. "I remember those races at Estoril; as a kid I was a big fan in the early 1990s and then I started karting in 1992. Me and Antonio Felix da Costa and many others were inspired to go racing by F1, and then that faded out a bit when it disappeared. The return is helping give the whole motorsport community in Portugal a boost."

New and revisited circuits on the calendar this year have added an extra dimension to Formula 1. Mugello was dramatic, and Portimao has the potential to add yet more variables. The Portuguese GP is back, and I for one am suitably revved up.