Autódromo do Estoril | |
Race information | |
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Number of times held | 25 |
First held | 1951 |
Last held | 1996 |
Most wins (drivers) | Nigel Mansell (3) Alain Prost (3) |
Most wins (constructors) | Ferrari (7) |
Circuit length | 4.360 km (2.709 mi) |
Race length | 305.200 km (189.64 mi) |
Laps | 70 |
Last race (1996) | |
Pole position | |
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Podium | |
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Fastest lap | |
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The Portuguese Grand Prix (Grande Prémio de Portugal) was a motorsports event held for several years, mostly in the 1950s and then in the 1980s and 90s. It was a Formula One race between 1958 and 1960 and between 1984 and 1996.
The first event was held on the Boavista street course in Porto on 17 June 1951 as a sports car race. The Grand Prix was moved to Monsanto Park, Lisbon, in 1954 as a one-off. Sportscar events continued until 1957 when the following year it became part of the Formula One world championship. The first Formula One race was held on 14 August 1958 in Boavista. This circuit was situated in a hazardous area; it was laid out through the town and included sections of cobbled street and even tramlines. British drivers Stirling Moss in a Vanwall and Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari were at the top of the championship table, battling it out for the first eight rain-interrupted laps. Moss then pulled away as Hawthorn slipped behind Frenchman Jean Behra in a BRM until the British car hit spark plug problems. But the drama was only just beginning as a protest was made against Hawthorn who, it was claimed, when he had restarted his car had driven a few yards in the wrong direction, which was against the rules and meant that Hawthorn was to be disqualified. As soon as he heard Moss headed to the stewards and told them Hawthorn had been off the course when he was spotted and that was not against the rules. Moss' evidence swung the decision, and no action was taken. Had the protest been upheld, Hawthorn would have lost seven points- six for finishing second and an extra one for recording the fastest lap. In the event, Moss's intervention allowed Hawthorn to win the drivers' title by one point- from Moss. This race was followed in 1959 by a Grand Prix at Monsanto, which was won again by Moss, this time in a mid-engined Cooper. Australian Jack Brabham hit a telegraph pole after swerving to hit the twice lapped local driver Mario Cabral; Brabham was thrown out of the car and landed on the track; he was then narrowly missed by American Masten Gregory. After this race, Monsanto Park was abandoned, and F1 returned to Boavista in 1960; this race was won by Brabham in a Cooper. The Portuguese Grand Prix was then discontinued and did not return until 1984.