The Algarve International Circuit in Portimão is the only real extra track on F1 24, with the ditching of France and China returning to the main calendar. I really like the track, as it’s got a real undulating flowing layout and it’s satisfying to put together a good lap round here.

With really only one long straight and the rest of the circuit being twisty, it used to be a medium-high downforce track. But on F1 24, the baseline is going lower for each track, so it’s a medium downforce circuit on this game. You need enough to top speed to attack and defend on the pit straight.

Here’s a general baseline dry race setup for Portugal for a pad user:

• Wings – 27/30
• Diff – 10/55/50
• Camber/Toe – -2.50/-2.20/0.00/0.13
• Suspension – 39-5-15-9-25-58
• Brakes – 100% Pressure/50% Bias
• Tyre Pressures – Maximum pressures all tyres.

More Setup Info & Tips

Wing Levels – It’s a tricky one round here. Normally, for single lap pace you’d ideally want wing levels in the 30s, but go much above 30 with the rear wing and you’ll be a sitting duck on the straights against the AI on the massive long pit straight. Therefore, I’d experiment with anything from 25 to 32 with wing levels and see what works for you.

Wing Spacing/Rotation – I normally like a 2 click spacing between the wings for dry setups on this game. But I’ve gone one click higher to have a 3 point gap, just because there’s some real tricky traction zones (especially turn 8), where you need dampened rotation to get easier traction. That’s why I’ve created more understeer with the wings, and also bumped the Off Throttle Diff up to 55 for more moderated rotation to make it easier to be consistent.

Tyre Pressures – Overheating is an issue with the number of successive right handers and traction zones, so the easy route is maximum pressures all four tyres to keep temps down. If you want to be more nuanced, you can lower the front right pressure by 0.5-1 PSI, as it’s not so stressed as the other tyres, but it’s not really going to make much difference on this game. The rest realistically need to be kept at maximum (the rear left overheats the most).

Intermediate Conditions – For light rain conditions, some of the traction zones get even trickier, so I’d add even more understeer by spacing the rear wing 4 clicks above the front and add 1-2 clicks if desired as well. So you could use something like 27/31, 28/32 or 29/33. Strange but really necessary to get smooth traction out of the more difficult corners. Otherwise, you can stick with the dry setup, maybe adding 1-2 clicks of ride height.

Full Wet Conditions – For full wet conditions, some more adjustments are usually needed. Keep the 4 click spacing with the wings for more stability, and add a bunch more wing (like 4-8 clicks extra), and also bump the Off Throttle Diff up even more. Also soften the suspension and raise the ride height several clicks as well.

Here’s a suggested wet race setup for Portugal for a pad user:

• Wings – 32/36
• Diff – 10/60/50
• Camber – -3.50/-2.20/0.00/0.13
• Suspension –  37-4-14-8-28-61
• Brakes – 95% Pressure/50% Bias
• Tyre pressures – Maximum all tyres

Bonus Setup Resources

There are different setup routes you can go down here for sure, using higher or lower wings and different spacing as well. If you want to check out some different setup styles, here are a few extra resources:

• You can also check out the SimRacingSetups channel’s Portimão race setup, but be aware it’s designed primarily for wheel users and therefore might not translate directly over to pad users. Perhaps port over the wing and Diff settings I’m using above. When I tried it, it was OK but my own setup was faster for me at least.
• F1laps.com Portugal page – Another car setup forum with pages for every track, and loads of custom setups posted, both TT and race, all cars, all conditions.
• Sim Racing Centre (Premium) – You have to pay for the setups, but they’re higher end, more aggressive and potentially faster setups if you can handle them. Can buy for single tracks or all tracks in one pack. Designed by eSports drivers, so will be more for wheel users than pad users. But could be an option if you’re wanting something more advanced.

Racing & Strategy Tips

Portimão is a tricky circuit to get used to, as it’s very low grip which makes traction difficult. But I also think ultimately quite fun to race around once you do. Here’s some extra tips for doing a race weekend round here if you decide to add it to your career/GP season.

Tyres (Qualifying) – The red soft tyre holds up surprisingly well round here, to the point you can actually get two good flying laps out of a fresh set of tyres (outlap–flying lap—cool down lap—-second flying lap). Therefore fuel for 5 laps and have two runs in Quali – sometimes your second lap can be faster.

ERS (Qualifying) – When racing against fellow human players, you’ve got a tonne of ERS Overtake mode to deploy on Quali laps to boost top speed. Enough for all along the pit straight, plus the back straight, and a few other straights as well. Just keep an eye on the yellow ERS and look to drain it all just as you finish any flying lap.

First Lap – This is another track where the AI cars can really bunch up (“concertina effect”) going into turn 1 and again into the turn 5 hairpin on the first lap. It’s really easy to come in too hot and smash into the car in front, and that’s your race over having to pit on lap 1 with wing damage. Therefore it’s usually better to hold back, coasting off the throttle into the braking zones and just aim to get through the first lap unscathed, then make up places later.

Turn 8 – This is the very tricky uphill right hander in sector 2. The “understeery” aspects of my setup are basically to help navigating this corner easier lap after lap. To avoid spinning, be super patient and progressive on the throttle when exiting this corner, and dial out any over-rotation in your setup to make traction here easier. Also, avoid the inside kerb as it’ll auto-spin you.

Don’t screw up turn 8 like Kimi…….

 

Tyre/Pit Strategy – The soft tyre actually holds up as a race tyre for me at least round here – you can get 3-6 good laps on it, so a soft-medium strategy is viable for a 25% race. For 50% races, it’s realistically a medium-hard strategy. The “undercut” – where you come in 1-2 laps early – seems to work OK at this track to jump a few cars. But it’s not as powerful as some other tracks as the AI don’t waste a huge amount of time battling here.

Defending (Race) – It’s pretty simple round here – it’s all about the massive long pit straight, so be sure to save enough battery to deploy Overtake mode halfway along this straight when defending. Then you might need another very small burst going onto the short back straight. Apart from that, don’t use the battery the rest the lap to let it recharge to defend again on the pit straight next time if necessary.