While it may just seem like yet another victory for Mercedes superstar Lewis Hamilton, the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix has seen the British star break Michael Schumacher's race win world record.
After drawing level on 91 career wins in his last start at the Eifel Grand Prix, Hamilton made history with a stunning drive, running away with a massive win, 25 seconds ahead of teammate Valtteri Bottas in second for the 92nd victory of his career.
Having been presented one of Schumacher's helmets by his the legend's son Mick, Hamilton moved into unparalleled territory with the record win.
"You are re-writing the history books," Hamilton's race engineer told him, while team principal Toto Wolff added: "Lewis, 92. 92."
Hamilton was chuffed.
"I naturally couldn't have done this without you. Thank you so much for continuing to believe in me, for continuing to strive for perfection. It's such an honour to work with you," he said over team radio.
Hamilton did a lap in front of the fans with his finger raised, as he became the winningest driver in F1 history.
"I never thought I'd see that record broken in my lifetime," Sky Sports analyst Anthony Davidson said. "A great race, absolute domination."
Hamilton was greated by his team as well as his father Anthony, who was on hand to record his son's record breaking win.
Lewis Hamilton hugs his father Anthony after making history.
But after growing up in a council estate, Hamilton got into racing with remote controlled cars as a six-year-old before his father bought him a go kart for his seventh birthday.
Anthony had recognised the talent from a young age, working three or four jobs at a time in order to fund his son’s endeavour.
But in 2010, Hamilton dropped his father as manager, damaging the relationship between the pair, which has taken most of the decade to repair.
The pair have worked to repair the relationship and his father was on hand to record his son's record breaking win.
Ted Kravitz revealed where his father caught the historic moment. "There was one very special spectator on the roof, recording that moment as Lewis Hamilton crossed the line to make history - Anthony Hamilton. A very very touching, a dad moment. It's what dads do, they record the special moments in their sons lives, they record the achievements of their sons and daughters' lives and that's what Anthony Hamilton was here to do. Just by himself, very low key. Anthony Hamilton was there in the beginning taping Lewis in the karting days and he's there for win number 92 when he made history."
Anthony Hamilton has gone full dad with his iPad. So sweet! 😄😄
@LewisHamilton standing on the podium with national anthem playing and words New World Record flashing in the background. Moments a talented little boy karting at Rye House and a dedicated dad could never have imagined. I'm pleased for them both. Class. #92andcounting#record#f1
Post race, Hamilton was clearly stunned by what he had achieved.
"I could never have dreamed of being where I am today. I didn't have a magic ball when I chose to come to this team and partner with great people, but here I am and what I can tell you is I'm trying to make the most of it every single day," he told Sky Sports.
"It's going to take some time to sink in. I was still pushing flat out coming across the line, I'm still very much in race mode mentally. I can't find the right words at the moment."
Lewis Hamilton with the spoils of victory.
The race in Portugal was hardly one to write home about outside of Hamilton's historic performance.
While Racing Point's Sergio Perez was turned on the first lap and his teammate Lance Stroll was handed a five second penalty after crashing with Lando Norris, but no safety cars and mostly a one-stop race meant it had few thrills.
Aussie Daniel Ricciardo started the race in 10th, but finished ninth, a position behind teammate Esteban Ocon in eighth, who nabbed his first win over the Aussie since the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix in August.
Ricciardo pitted early and appeared to be gambling on a safety car, rain or the race turning into a two-stop. But it never eventuate with Ricciardo getting as high as seventh but falling back to ninth.
The day didn't go as planned for Ricciardo.
PORTUGUESE GRAND PRIX RESULTS
1st: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2nd: Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3rd: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
4th: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
5th: Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
6th: Carlos Sainz (McLaren)
7th: Sergio Perez (Racing Point) - Alexander Albon (Red Bull)
8th: Esteban Ocon (Renault)
9th: Daniel Ricciardo (Renault)
10th: Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Updates
'Yes boys: Ricciardo going backwards
Daniel Ricciardo's lap 16 choice to pit has not really paid off despite getting up to seventh.
But the the early pit meant that he didn't have much left when drivers with much fresher wheels caught up to him.
Hoping for a safety car or rain or something to slow the rest of the race down, Ricciardo was overtaken by Pierre Gasly, before McLaren's Carlos Sainz flew past him.
That DRS down the home straight is way too easy. Sainz flying past Ricciardo like a rocket 😂
Ricciardo is just barely hanging on to a points position with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen pushing him hard for his spot.
Three-quarters of the race done
There have been little incidents throughout the race but the most interesting events have been the close racing.
Hamilton, Bottas and Verstappen have pretty much wrapped up 1-2-3 with Charles Leclerc a further 12 seconds back.
Daniel Ricciardo is 21 second behind teammate Esteban Ocon, falling back to eighth as he was overtaken by AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly.
'What the ****?': Star erupts in crash
Racing Point's Lance Stroll was doing well but he appears to have bitten off more than he could chew taking on McLaren's Lando Norris for seventh.
Stroll went around the outside on DRS but it was Norris that shared his strong feelings over team radio.
"What the **** is this **** doing? I've got damage boys I need to box. I got got wing damage," Norris said over team radio.
The pair were under investigation but after both pitting are sitting back in 19th and 20th.
Stroll was then awarded a five second penalty for causing the crash, having been deemed to have turned in on Norris.
It appears the incident has ruined both of their races.
But the commentators also called it a "nightmare" for Racing Point after Perez was spun on the first lap – but after 26 laps had forced his way back up to ninth.
It gets worse for Stroll as he got another five second penalty for exceeding track limits.
Daniel Ricciardo pits early
The first lap excitement has given way to a strategic battle and Daniel Ricciardo has pitted early, either biting the bullet on a two-stop race or hoping for a safety car at some point.
It drops him back to 19th but it will be an interesting race to come as the drivers are complaining about tyre degradation while the resurfaced track has seen plenty of sliding around on corners.
And with rain still threatening – we'll see what happens.
Sainz's shock lead over
Carlos Sainz's lead has lasted just six laps before regular programming resumed.
Sainz was getting some tyre issues as the Mercedes' overtook him, while Max Vertstappen was all over his tail within a lap.
Shock leader in lights out madness
Sergio Perez has been spun on the first lap by Red Bull's Max Verstappen as a crazy first lap sees Carlos Sainz in second.
His McLaren took the lead off Valtteri Bottas in the second lap, getting ahead of both Mercedes' with a shock performance.
Verstappen is driving wide and slipping all over the place in the early stages and Daniel Ricciardo is up from 10th to seventh.
Shockingly, Kimi Raikkonen was the big mover, going from the eighth row of the grid into the top five during everyone's early issues.
It's a crazy start.
'One minute' leaves Ricciardo out in cold
Daniel Ricciardo missed out on setting a qualifying time and starting from higher on the grid for the Portuguese Grand Prix after Renault couldn't repair his car after a seemingly minor crash in Q2.
Ricciardo spun late in Q2, went across the gravel and hit the tyre barrier.
The Aussie got back to the pits but his team couldn't repair the damaged rear wing in time to set a time with Ricciardo to start the Portuguese GP in 10th.
“The cars are quite sensitive, I had to get through a few lapped cars, they are off the race line, but turning and braking, it depends where the wind is coming from,” he said after qualifying.
“Felt like as soon as I got in, I lost the rear but I’ll watch it again, and see if it was something I caused it from, but it’s done. Obviously a shame, because when I lost it, I was OK, I’ll spin and get going again, but it kept going until I hit the barrier and damaged the rear wing.
“The team got very close to getting me back out on track for Q3. One more minute and we were on track. It’s a shame, I could see them working hard in the mirrors, trying to make it work for me, so it was a bit of a let down for them, but we’ll make it happen tomorrow and move up.”
Ricciardo has struggled with the cars one lap pace but is confident he can get into a good rhythm and perform well in the main race.
Despite the crash, he again qualified ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon, with Sky Sports' Paul di Resta saying Ricciardo's performance has left the Frenchman unlikely to be able to step up to Mercedes, where he was a reserve driver in 2019.
“Daniel’s at the top of his game again at the moment, I think he’s somehow re-energised after that break for Covid, and he talks about that openly," di Resta said.
“But Esteban had a great opportunity with Daniel moving on to come and establish himself again under the eyes of Mercedes as well, because don’t forget Toto Wolff manages him, he could have been a replacement for Hamilton in time to come.
“But he’s not done enough, I think, to prove to the team that they can rely on him.”
With 2020 race winner Pierre Gasly considering chasing a seat outside Red Bull, Renault could even look elsewhere.
Di Resta fears that if he loses his seat "this time he won’t get back in".
