Pierre Gasly has praised Formula 1's new 2021 practice format going into this weekend's Portuguese GP in Portimao. New regulations for this year saw a reduction in practice time on a Friday with both practice sessions lasting one hour rather than 90 minutes. Drivers and teams have been punished for reliability issues on a Friday which has caused problems for the rest of the event. "It hasn’t changed our work programme, but it does mean the track is busier with more cars out at the same time," Gasly told the press. "There is a bit more action and you spend less time waiting in the garage. I quite like it, as the sessions are more intense." Gasly feels AlphaTauri's results in 2021 do not showcase their true form. Gasly qualified fifth in Imola but a strategical error to start on the wet tyres turned out to be a bad decision although the Frenchman recovered to finish in seventh place. Last year in Portugal, Gasly finished in the top five and is hoping to replicate a similar result this weekend to score some big points. "Portimao is a really unique circuit with all the gradient changes, going up and down like a rollercoaster," said Gasly. It’s fun driving there and very different to what we’re used to. "As a low grip track, the car slides a lot and it’s not easy to get the tyres up to temperature. We will face a different challenge to the ones from the first two races."
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