Formula 1 is preparing to return to the streets of Baku, but one of the biggest developments away from the track has been the confirmation of the 2027 F1 calendar, which will bring two familiar Grands Prix back to the championship: Portugal and Turkey.
The 2027 season will feature 10 Sprint events, up from six, including a Sprint in Monaco – a decision that has already raised eyebrows among some fans. Races in the Middle East also remain on the schedule at a time when the conflict affecting the region appears far from resolved. But for long-time Formula 1 followers, the return of the Portuguese and Turkish Grands Prix is among the calendar’s most fascinating developments. Both have produced spectacular races, personal milestones and moments that remain part of F1 history.
Portugal will return at Portimão from June 18-20, while Turkey follows at Istanbul Park from October 1-3. The two events have very different histories in Formula 1, but both have left a lasting mark on the championship.
Portugal returns to the F1 calendar in 2027 after three long absences
Across 18 editions of the Portuguese Grand Prix, Formula 1 has raced at four different circuits. The country’s first World Championship event took place in 1958 on the Boavista street circuit, where Stirling Moss claimed victory.
The British driver repeated the feat the following year in the first and only Formula 1 race held at Monsanto in Lisbon. The second and final race at Boavista, meanwhile, went to Jack Brabham, who became World Champion for the second time in his career.
Following Jack Brabham’s title celebrations, Portugal disappeared from the Formula 1 calendar and did not return until 1984. That season, the championship made its debut at the new permanent Estoril circuit, which also hosted the final Grand Prix of the year.
Alain Prost won the race, but second place was enough for Niki Lauda to secure his third and final World Championship. The Austrian finished just 0.5 points ahead of Alain Prost in the standings, which remains the smallest margin between champion and runner-up in Formula 1 history.
The unusual half-point margin was connected to the Monaco Grand Prix earlier that season, where half points were awarded after the race was stopped in heavy rain before 75% of the scheduled distance had been completed. That same Monaco weekend produced another historic milestone, with Ayrton Senna taking the first podium of his Formula 1 career.
Ayrton Senna’s first F1 victory came in Portugal
One year later, at the 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna achieved two more career milestones: his first Formula 1 pole position and his first Grand Prix victory. Fittingly, the Brazilian’s breakthrough came in another race affected by torrential rain.
Estoril ultimately hosted 13 Portuguese Grands Prix, although the circuit was criticised for safety concerns on more than one occasion and underwent modifications as a result.
One of the venue’s most famous incidents, although not directly related to the circuit’s safety shortcomings, involved Riccardo Patrese in 1992. The Italian, who remains the only Italian driver to have won the Portuguese Grand Prix after his 1991 victory, hit Gerhard Berger’s McLaren at high speed on the start-finish straight.
Gerhard Berger suddenly slowed as he entered the pit lane without warning the driver behind him. Riccardo Patrese’s Williams was launched spectacularly into the air, but fortunately the Italian escaped without serious consequences.
Alain Prost shares the record for the most Portuguese Grand Prix victories with Nigel Mansell, both having won three times. Alain Prost’s final Portuguese victory came in 1993, a weekend on which second place was enough for him to clinch the World Championship.
David Coulthard then recorded his maiden Formula 1 victory at Estoril in 1995. A year later, Formula 1 said goodbye to the circuit with another memorable moment when Jacques Villeneuve produced a brave and spectacular move around the outside of Michael Schumacher at the final corner.
For readers looking back through the championship’s different venues, winners, pole positions and historic benchmarks, the F1 Circuit Records & Statistics section provides further historical comparisons.
Portimão brought the Portuguese Grand Prix back during the pandemic
Another lengthy absence followed before the Portuguese Grand Prix returned for a third period in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced Formula 1 to significantly reshape its calendar.
That gave the championship an opportunity to race for the first time at the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão. The venue quickly became known among Formula 1 fans for its dramatic elevation changes, with gradients reaching as much as 12% downhill and 6% uphill.
The rollercoaster-like circuit has so far had only one Formula 1 king: Lewis Hamilton. The British driver won both Grands Prix held at Portimão in 2020 and 2021.
His first victory there was particularly significant. Lewis Hamilton’s triumph in the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix was the 92nd win of his Formula 1 career, taking him beyond Michael Schumacher and establishing a new outright record for Grand Prix victories at the time.
Portimão will now welcome Formula 1 back in 2027, adding another chapter to a Portuguese Grand Prix history that has stretched from the streets of Porto and Lisbon to Estoril and the Algarve.
Turkey returns to F1 in 2027 with a very different history
Turkey’s Formula 1 story is considerably different from Portugal’s. It has hosted fewer Grands Prix, and every edition has taken place at the same venue: Istanbul Park.
Designed by Hermann Tilke, Istanbul Park hosted the inaugural Turkish Grand Prix in 2005. Kimi Räikkönen became the event’s first winner, before Felipe Massa began an extraordinary run at the circuit the following season.
Felipe Massa’s 2006 victory was the first of his Formula 1 career and the beginning of three consecutive Turkish Grand Prix wins. The Brazilian therefore remains the most successful driver in the history of the event.
Red Bull, by contrast, have relatively few happy memories from Turkey. Sebastian Vettel won at Istanbul Park in 2011, but the previous year’s race produced one of the most controversial moments in the team’s history.
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber’s infamous 2010 Turkish GP collision
During the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix, tensions between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber erupted after the two Red Bull drivers collided while fighting for the lead. Sebastian Vettel attempted to overtake his Australian teammate, only for the pair to make contact and throw away a potential one-two finish.
Sebastian Vettel’s immediate reaction became almost as memorable as the collision itself. His team radio contained so much strong language that much of it had to be censored, while television cameras captured the German gesturing to suggest that Mark Webber was crazy.
The incident became one of the defining episodes of an increasingly tense championship battle inside Red Bull, in a season that would ultimately end with Sebastian Vettel becoming Formula 1 World Champion for the first time.
Lewis Hamilton made history at Istanbul Park in 2020
Istanbul Park disappeared from the Formula 1 calendar after 2011 before making an occasional return in 2020 and 2021 as the championship adapted its schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The comeback immediately produced surprises. Lance Stroll claimed a remarkable pole position for the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix in extremely difficult conditions, but the weekend is remembered above all for another historic achievement by Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton won the race to secure his seventh and, to date, most recent Formula 1 Drivers’ World Championship, equalling Michael Schumacher’s record of seven titles. It added another major milestone to Istanbul Park’s history, 15 years after Kimi Räikkönen had won the circuit’s inaugural Grand Prix.
Now, both Portimão and Istanbul Park are preparing for another Formula 1 comeback. The current Formula 1 calendar shows the championship’s schedule before those two familiar venues rejoin the series in 2027, bringing back circuits associated with everything from Ayrton Senna’s first victory and Felipe Massa’s breakthrough to Lewis Hamilton’s record-breaking achievements.
For Portugal and Turkey, 2027 will therefore represent more than simply two additions to a 24-race calendar. It will mark the return of two chapters of Formula 1 history that have produced some of the championship’s most enduring memories.
Leave a Reply