Portuguese Grand Prix

The first event was held on 17 June 1951 on the Boavista street course in Porto as a sports car race. In 1954 the Grand Prix moved to Monsanto Park, Lisbon, as a one-off. Monsanto, like Boavista, was a hazardous street circuit lined with trees with many elevation changes and fast sweepers; Monsanto was quite wide whereas Boavista was narrow. Sportscar events continued until 1957, when the following year the race became part of the Formula One World Championship.

The first Formula One race was held at Boavista on 14 August 1958. Stirling Moss in a Vanwall and Mike Hawthorn in a Ferrari were at the top of the championship table. Rain interrupted the first eight laps, then Moss pulled ahead as Hawthorn slipped behind Frenchman Jean Behra in a BRM until that car suffered spark plug problems. A protest was subsequently lodged against Hawthorn, claiming he had driven a few yards in the wrong direction when restarting his car, which would have meant disqualification. Moss went to the stewards and argued that Hawthorn had been off the course when spotted and that this was not against the rules; his 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 one for the fastest lap. Moss's intervention allowed Hawthorn to win the Drivers' Championship by one point from Moss himself.

The 1959 race at Monsanto was again won by Moss, this time in a mid-engined Cooper. Jack Brabham hit a telegraph pole after swerving to avoid the twice-lapped local driver Mario Cabral, was thrown from the car and landed on the track, narrowly missed by American Masten Gregory. Monsanto was subsequently abandoned; F1 returned to Boavista for 1960, where Brabham won again in a Cooper. The Portuguese Grand Prix was then discontinued and did not return until 1984.

The name was used for a sports car sprint event on the Cascais street circuit in 1964, and for Formula Three entrants in 1965 and 1966.

The Autódromo do Estoril near Lisbon opened in 1972; an Estoril Grand Prix was held as a European Formula Two Championship event during the 1970s. On 21 October 1984, Portugal returned to the Formula One calendar at Estoril, with Alain Prost winning the race but failing to win the championship by half a point from his McLaren teammate Niki Lauda, who finished second.

In 1985 the Grand Prix was moved to 21 April and held under heavy rain — ideal conditions for Ayrton Senna to win his first Formula One race. From 1986, the race was held in the penultimate week of September; that year Nigel Mansell won. In 1987, Prost recorded his 28th Grand Prix win, breaking Jackie Stewart's 14-year-old record.

The 1988 race brought controversy between Prost and his McLaren teammate Senna: coming out of the long Parabolica corner, Prost moved to pass Senna but Senna squeezed him towards the pit wall separating the pits from the track; Prost kept his foot flat and passed going into the first corner. The incident sparked one of the most famous rivalries in the sport's history.

In 1989, Mansell — now driving for Ferrari — overshot his pit lane entrance and, against his team's instructions, reversed into his pit stop position, which was against the rules. He subsequently ignored the black flag shown to him. When he came to pass Senna, who was leading, Senna turned into the Ferrari and both went off the track. This effectively ended Senna's 1989 championship chances, as he now needed to win the remaining three races to beat Prost, who finished second behind Mansell's teammate Gerhard Berger. Mansell and Ferrari were both fined $50,000 and Mansell was banned for the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix.

The 1990 race was shortened after backmarker Philippe Alliot nearly struck the leader Mansell at the second corner; Alex Caffi and Aguri Suzuki crashed on lap 59 and the marshals could not clear the cars. Mansell won from Senna and Prost; Berger finished fourth.

In 1991, Mansell — by then driving for Williams — saw his championship chances damaged when a rear right wheel was not fastened after a pit stop. He travelled about 50 feet before it came off, leaving him stranded in the pit road. Williams mechanics ran to the car and physically lifted it while fitting the tyre properly — actions that broke the rules — and Mansell, after fighting back to sixth, was shown the black flag. Riccardo Patrese, Mansell's Italian Williams teammate, won the race. Mansell won again in 1992, while Patrese suffered a heavy crash after hitting the back of Gerhard Berger's McLaren and being launched into the air alongside the pit wall; no one was injured.

In 1993, Alain Prost won his fourth and final Drivers' Championship driving for Williams, finishing second in the race to Michael Schumacher in a Benetton.

In 1994, the Estoril circuit was modified in response to the deaths of Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola: the Esses corner before the Parabolica was converted into a three-corner sequence. Damon Hill won the race. In 1995, Ukyo Katayama in a Tyrrell was involved in a large accident at the start; David Coulthard won. In 1996, Canadian rookie Jacques Villeneuve in a Williams passed Schumacher on the outside of the Parabolica to win.

Estoril was located only a few miles from the westernmost point of continental Europe, leaving it susceptible to stiff Atlantic breezes and rainstorms; this, combined with the FIA's repeated requests for facility improvements that went unmet, contributed to the race's eventual removal.

In 1997, the governing body called Estoril's renovation proposal a bluff; promised work had not been done and the race was cancelled, replaced as the season finale by the European Grand Prix at Jerez, Spain. Portugal's Economy Minister Augusto Mateus announced the government would provide the $6 million needed for the work, but it never materialised. Despite the Portuguese government purchasing a controlling interest in the company that owned the track to accelerate the renovation, the 1998 Portuguese Grand Prix — listed on the calendar — was also cancelled when upgrading work could not be completed in time.

On 4 April 2009, Max Mosley stated that the quality of the Algarve International Circuit in Portimão meant the Portuguese Grand Prix could be reintegrated into the Formula One championship, subject to a commercial agreement with Formula One Management. The race returned for the 2020 season on 25 October, helping to fill calendar gaps caused by COVID-19 pandemic cancellations. At Portimão, Lewis Hamilton scored his 92nd Formula One Grand Prix win, breaking Michael Schumacher's previous record for most wins. The circuit hosted one further race in 2021, and Formula One is scheduled to return to Portimão in 2027 and 2028.

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