Portuguese GP wins race to fill final 2021 slot

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The final place on the 2021 calendar will go to the Portuguese Grand Prix, according to Autosport magazine citing "sources with good knowledge of the situation".

The FIA unveiled a 23-race season last month, but left the venue for the race now scheduled for May 2 as 'to be confirmed' with a possible second race at Bahrain among the options under consideration.

But after weeks of uncertainty over the current coronavirus situation in the country, reports say that a deal has now been struck to bring F1 back to Portimao for a second time.

Read also: FIA confirms record 23-race calendar for F1 in 2021

F1 teams will be officially informed of the decision to add Portugal to the calendar at Thursday's meeting of the F1 Commission, which is also expected to consider proposals for three Saturday sprint races.

The Autódromo Internacional do Algarve made its debut on the calendar last year as a last minute replacement for long haul races during the COVID pandemic.

The undulating circuit proved popular with drivers, teams and fans, with Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas coming out top in qualifying and the race.

Following the decision to delay the Australia Grand Prix until November and the indefinite postponement of the Chinese GP, it means Portugal is set to be the third round of 2021 after initial outings in Bahrain and Imola.

The Portuguese GP will form a back-to-back double-header with Spain the following weekend, followed by a weekend off before the Monaco GP at the end of the month.

However all plans remain subject to developments with the coronavirus situation and adherence to local, regional and national safety measures.

Portugal is currently on the UK government's 'red list' of countries that will require arrivals from there to quarantine in a hotel for ten days. Currently there is no exemption that that requirement for elite sports.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.