Lewis Hamilton delivered a flawless drive in his Mercedes to win the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday from his arch title rival Max Verstappen.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton's 97th Grand Prix triumph extended his early season lead over Red Bull's Verstappen in the Formula One drivers' standings to eight points.

In third place in Portimao was pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes with Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull in fourth.

"That was such a tough race physically and mentally. I didn't get a good start and also lost out at the restart but it was a great result in the end," said Hamilton.

"Today wasn't all perfect and we need to get ready now for the quick turnaround for Spain."

At a sun-drenched Algarve International Circuit Bottas led Hamilton from the two Red Bulls into the first corner.

By the end of lap one it was the safety car which led after the two Alfa Romeos collided, with Kimi Raikkonen's front wing littered across the straight after clipping Antonio Giovinazzi's car.

Bottas carefully controlled the rolling restart on lap seven but in his rearview mirror he will have seen Verstappen charge past Hamilton and into second.

<h2>- 'Sitting duck' -</h2>

"That a boy" was the pleased reaction on the team radio from the Red Bull pits.

But four laps later and a mistake by the Dutchman on turn 14 let Hamilton regain second, darting past on the inside with Verstappen snapping: "I'm just a sitting duck on the straight. It's unbelievable."

Hamilton hit the front with a superb sweeping move past Bottas at the start of lap 20, quickly establishing daylight between the Mercedes men.

Verstappen was the first of the leading group to pit on lap 36, with Bottas next, followed by Hamilton, with Perez yet to change tyres, in front.

With 13 laps left Hamilton pushed past Perez to regain control of the third leg of the record 23-race season, and from there the race was his to lose.

"I think Max made a mistake at some point and that was perfect. With Valtteri I had to make the move early on before the tyres were destroyed and I just managed to get him at turn one. Right on my limit. Great race," added Hamilton.

"We were not on top of it here but we'll see what we can do in Barcelona," said Verstappen, referring to next weekend's race in Spain.

Intrigue in the closing stages surrounded the question of who would end up with a potentially crucial point for the fastest lap.

Verstappen thought he'd clinched it only for his effort to be ruled out due to track limits with Bottas eventually taking the honours.

The Red Bulls are emerging as serious challengers to Mercedes' supremacy but the world champions have evidently worked hard to redress any imbalance in performance between the two teams.

And after three legs of the season it is Hamilton in his quest for a record eighth world crown that has won twice, adding this to his opening success in Bahrain, with Verstappen the winner in Imola.

Sitting third in the drivers' standings is Lando Norris for resurgent McLaren after the Briton took fifth on Sunday.

He came in ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly completing the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton delivered a flawless drive in his Mercedes to win the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday from his arch title rival Max Verstappen. Seven-time world champion Hamilton's 97th Grand Prix triumph extended his early season lead over Red Bull's Verstappen in the Formula One drivers' standings to eight points.

Lewis Hamilton delivered a flawless drive in his Mercedes to win the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday from his arch title rival Max Verstappen. Seven-time world champion Hamilton's 97th Grand Prix triumph extended his early season lead over Red Bull's Verstappen in the Formula One drivers' standings to eight points. In third place in Portimao was pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas in the other Mercedes with Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull in fourth. "That was such a tough race physically and mentally. I didn't get a good start and also lost out at the restart but it was a great result in the end," said Hamilton. "Today wasn't all perfect and we need to get ready now for the quick turnaround for Spain." At a sun-drenched Algarve International Circuit Bottas led Hamilton from the two Red Bulls into the first corner. By the end of lap one it was the safety car which led after the two Alfa Romeos collided, with Kimi Raikkonen's front wing littered across the straight after clipping Antonio Giovinazzi's car. Bottas carefully controlled the rolling restart on lap seven but in his rearview mirror he will have seen Verstappen charge past Hamilton and into second. - 'Sitting duck' - "That a boy" was the pleased reaction on the team radio from the Red Bull pits. But four laps later and a mistake by the Dutchman on turn 14 let Hamilton regain second, darting past on the inside with Verstappen snapping: "I'm just a sitting duck on the straight. It's unbelievable." Hamilton hit the front with a superb sweeping move past Bottas at the start of lap 20, quickly establishing daylight between the Mercedes men. Verstappen was the first of the leading group to pit on lap 36, with Bottas next, followed by Hamilton, with Perez yet to change tyres, in front. With 13 laps left Hamilton pushed past Perez to regain control of the third leg of the record 23-race season, and from there the race was his to lose. "I think Max made a mistake at some point and that was perfect. With Valtteri I had to make the move early on before the tyres were destroyed and I just managed to get him at turn one. Right on my limit. Great race," added Hamilton. "We were not on top of it here but we'll see what we can do in Barcelona," said Verstappen, referring to next weekend's race in Spain. Intrigue in the closing stages surrounded the question of who would end up with a potentially crucial point for the fastest lap. Verstappen thought he'd clinched it only for his effort to be ruled out due to track limits with Bottas eventually taking the honours. The Red Bulls are emerging as serious challengers to Mercedes' supremacy but the world champions have evidently worked hard to redress any imbalance in performance between the two teams. And after three legs of the season it is Hamilton in his quest for a record eighth world crown that has won twice, adding this to his opening success in Bahrain, with Verstappen the winner in Imola. Sitting third in the drivers' standings is Lando Norris for resurgent McLaren after the Briton took fifth on Sunday. He came in ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, with the Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso, Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) and the AlphaTauri of Pierre Gasly completing the top 10.

Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix for 97th career victory

Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completing a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying on Saturday.

Hamilton's pursuit of a 100th pole at the track where last year he notched up his record 92nd win was delayed when Bottas earned the 17th of his career.

"It's a good feeling to be on pole," said Bottas after a final qualifying session lap of 1min 18.348sec.

He added: "Feels like it's been a while. It's been a weak point for me in the first two races. The team have been working hard all weekend and we have a good position for tomorrow."

Bottas' performance was well-timed after he had qualified third in the season-opener in Bahrain but then a lowly eighth at Emilia-Romagna.

His time was just 0.007sec faster than Hamilton.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen, one point off Hamilton in the drivers' standings, took third on Sunday's grid with his teammate Sergio Perez alongside him on the second row in Portimao.

Verstappen had in fact bettered Bottas' time but had his 1min 18.209sec run scrubbed out after exceeding track limits.

Ferrari's Carlos Sainz came in fifth ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, in a McLaren, and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari.

Hamilton paid tribute to Bottas "and our team for us both to be on the front row".

"It was not expected. We have to be happy for that, it was not the perfect lap but I gave it everything.

"You can never be satisfied, we exist to keep moving forward but I'm happy with what we're doing and the steps we're taking."

Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff admitted his world champion team is making steady qualifying improvements.

"I'm not sure we had the fastest car but we have improved a lot," he said.&nbsp;

"We are catching up (Red Bull) in qualifying, we are maybe at the same level, and I think we have a good car for racing."

<h2>- Red Bull 'not too far off' -</h2>

Hamilton narrowly leads the 2021 championship after he won the opener in Bahrain before Dutch rival Verstappen hit back at Imola.

"Third is of course not what we wanted but it's not too bad after I had a Q3 lap time deleted, which would actually have put us fastest," said Verstappen.

"We struggled with the balance in Q1 and Q2 because of the track surface, and everyone is chasing grip, but we got to a decent level in Q3 so I don't think we are too far off."

Bottas' last outing at Imola was one to forget as he and Williams driver George Russell collided at 300km/h.

Both cars were wrecked that day and Russell was furious with the Finn before the pair continued their clash off the track with a bitter war of words.

Russell will start on the sixth row on Sunday with Pierre Gasly, in an AlphaTauri, and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, in an Aston Martin, ahead of him.

"It's our best qualifying position in three years so I'm really proud," said Russell.

"We all have our responsibilities, and as a team we did a really good job.

"Tomorrow we've got to keep moving forward. We have a good race car –- it's fast on the straights, so let's see what we can do."

The Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin start at the back.

Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completing a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying on Saturday.

Valtteri Bottas took pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton completing a Mercedes front-row lockout in qualifying on Saturday. Hamilton's pursuit of a 100th pole at the track where last year he notched up his record 92nd win was delayed when Bottas earned the 17th of his career. "It's a good feeling to be on pole," said Bottas after a final qualifying session lap of 1min 18.348sec. He added: "Feels like it's been a while. It's been a weak point for me in the first two races. The team have been working hard all weekend and we have a good position for tomorrow." Bottas' performance was well-timed after he had qualified third in the season-opener in Bahrain but then a lowly eighth at Emilia-Romagna. His time was just 0.007sec faster than Hamilton. Red Bull's Max Verstappen, one point off Hamilton in the drivers' standings, took third on Sunday's grid with his teammate Sergio Perez alongside him on the second row in Portimao. Verstappen had in fact bettered Bottas' time but had his 1min 18.209sec run scrubbed out after exceeding track limits. Ferrari's Carlos Sainz came in fifth ahead of the Alpine of Esteban Ocon, Lando Norris, in a McLaren, and Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari. Hamilton paid tribute to Bottas "and our team for us both to be on the front row". "It was not expected. We have to be happy for that, it was not the perfect lap but I gave it everything. "You can never be satisfied, we exist to keep moving forward but I'm happy with what we're doing and the steps we're taking." Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff admitted his world champion team is making steady qualifying improvements. "I'm not sure we had the fastest car but we have improved a lot," he said. "We are catching up (Red Bull) in qualifying, we are maybe at the same level, and I think we have a good car for racing." - Red Bull 'not too far off' - Hamilton narrowly leads the 2021 championship after he won the opener in Bahrain before Dutch rival Verstappen hit back at Imola. "Third is of course not what we wanted but it's not too bad after I had a Q3 lap time deleted, which would actually have put us fastest," said Verstappen. "We struggled with the balance in Q1 and Q2 because of the track surface, and everyone is chasing grip, but we got to a decent level in Q3 so I don't think we are too far off." Bottas' last outing at Imola was one to forget as he and Williams driver George Russell collided at 300km/h. Both cars were wrecked that day and Russell was furious with the Finn before the pair continued their clash off the track with a bitter war of words. Russell will start on the sixth row on Sunday with Pierre Gasly, in an AlphaTauri, and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, in an Aston Martin, ahead of him. "It's our best qualifying position in three years so I'm really proud," said Russell. "We all have our responsibilities, and as a team we did a really good job. "Tomorrow we've got to keep moving forward. We have a good race car –- it's fast on the straights, so let's see what we can do." The Haas pair of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin start at the back.

Formula One: Bottas denies Hamilton 100th pole in Portugal

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Hamilton wins Portuguese Grand Prix for 97th career victory

Formula One: Bottas denies Hamilton 100th pole in Portugal