This fan-favourite track will return to Formula One: here's a quick guide

Opened: October 2008
Cost: £153m
Grandstand capacity: 100,000
Lap length: 4.65km / 2.89 miles
Corners: 15
Outright lap record: 1min 16.65secs, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG F1 W11, 2020
Road car lap record: 1min 48.33secs, Duncan Tappy, McLaren Senna

Photography: Mark Riccioni, John Wycherley

Portimão’s 969m long pit straight begins and ends with blind crests. Takes some bravery to keep it pinned.

Enjoy a slide in the turn three hairpin then aim for the blind crest and fire yourself over the hill, staying off the gravel and rubber marbles off line.

Deviously downhill approach to tight hairpin lulls you into leaving braking scarily late...

From a banked, cambered entry to an off camber exit and a blind crest straight after, this is probably the most technical corner on the circuit.

How does it look so flat in pictures? In reality there’s scarier elevation change through this section than at Alton Towers.

Uphill braking zone means you can leave stopping late, and a tight switchback invites hoonery. The photographers liked it up here – because they could stand well back.

Leaning on the front left all the way around this endless right hander feels like pure tyre torture, but what a test of a car’s front axle, traction, overall grip, and balance. And your nerve...