Summary:
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve – known more colloquially as Portimao, after the port city it sits half an hour outside of – was opened in the autumn of 2008, with construction of the permanent facility completed in just seven months, and at a cost of €195 million. Portimao joined the F1 calendar at short notice amid 2020's Covid-19 changes, having never previously hosted a Formula 1 World Championship event. Prior to that, the track was used for F1 pre-season testing in the winter of 2008-09, while several drivers on the grid, including Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc and Valtteri Bottas, experienced the Portuguese circuit during their junior careers.
