The Circuito do Estoril or Autódromo do Estoril (Estoril Circuit), officially known as Autódromo
Fernanda Pires da Silva, is a
motorsport
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
race track
A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...
on the
Portuguese Riviera
The Portuguese Riviera (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Riviera Portuguesa'') is a term used for the affluent coastal region to the west of Lisbon, Portugal, centered on the coastal municipalities of Cascais (including Estoril), Oeiras, Portug ...
, outside of
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, owned by state-run holding management company
Parpública. Its length is . It was the home of the
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
Portuguese Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996. The circuit has an
FIA Grade 1 license.
History
Estoril, a vacation-destination beach town located west of the Portuguese capital city of
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
has had motor racing dating back to the 1930s, with a street circuit used in 1937 for a local race. The current Estoril circuit was built and completed in 1972 on a rocky
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; : plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. ...
near the village of
Alcabideche, from
Estoril
Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...
, the town lending its name to the circuit. The course has two hairpin turns, noticeable elevation changes, and a long start/finish straight.
Its original perimeter was , and the maximum gradient is nearly 7%.
Monsanto Park, another street circuit in Lisbon hosted a variety of motor racing events in the 1950s, including the
1959 Portuguese Grand Prix, an event it shared briefly with the Boavista street circuit in
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
.
Its first years saw many national races, as well as an occasional
Formula 2
Formula Two (F2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 to 2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned aga ...
race. However, the course soon fell into disrepair due to the owning company having been taken over by the state between 1975 and 1978, and a significant redevelopment effort was needed before international
motorsport
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
returned in 1984. In the 1980s, the
Rally de Portugal also had a special stage at the circuit.
Estoril became a popular event on the F1 calendar, the setting for many well-known moments including
Niki Lauda
Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian racing driver, motorsport executive and aviation entrepreneur, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Lauda won three Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...
winning the championship, his third and final, from
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
teammate
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...
by just half a point by finishing second to Prost at the
1984 Portuguese Grand Prix; three-time world champion
Ayrton Senna's first F1 win in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
;
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell (; born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons ...
's notorious black flag incident and subsequent collision with Senna in
1989
1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
;
Riccardo Patrese being launched airborne in a near-backward flip after colliding with
Gerhard Berger on the main straight in
1992
1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General.
* January 6
** The Republ ...
; and
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...
overtaking
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
around the outside of the final turn in
1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
.

Throughout the years, Estoril has had numerous problems with safety, failing safety inspections on more than one occasion. After the death of Ayrton Senna at the
1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a chicane was added which increased the circuit length to . Estoril sometimes has strong winds. Many teams were fond of using Estoril for winter testing.
Estoril was dropped from the F1 calendar for the
1997 season, though it continued to play host to top-level single-seater, sports car and touring car events, including the
FIA GT Championship, the
DTM and the
World Series by Renault.
A new redesign of the parabolica turn which saw its length reduced to was implemented in 2000 in order to obtain
FIM homologation.
On 3 September 2000, the Autódromo do Estoril held its first
Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix, an event held annually. On 23 October 2005, the circuit hosted the third round of the first ever
A1 Grand Prix racing season, with both races in the event being won by the
French team. The track hosted
Superleague Formula
Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
series events in 2008 and 2009.
In 2020, due to rescheduling of major international sport series due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, Estoril hosted the final race of
2020 Superbike World Championship (after hosting the series in 1988 and 1993) and the final race of
2019–20 FIM Endurance World Championship (after hosting the series in 1987 and 2000).
Layout history
Lap records
As of May 2025, the fastest official race lap records at the Circuito do Estoril are listed as:
Events
; Current
* January:
GT Winter Series,
GT4 Winter Series,
Prototype Winter Series
* February:
Porsche Sprint Challenge Southern Europe
* April:
Sidecar World Championship
FIM Sidecar World Championship is the international sidecar racing championship. It is the only remaining original Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM road racing championship class that started in 1949.
It was formerly named Supersi ...
* May:
FIM JuniorGP World Championship,
FIM Moto2 European Championship,
European Talent Cup
* July: Estoril Summer Party
* August:
Porsche Cup Brasil
* September:
* October:
Superbike World Championship
Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette road racing series based on heavily modified production sports motorcycles.
The championship was founded in . The Superbike World Champion ...
,
Classic Endurance Racing ''Estoril Classics'',
Supersport World Championship,
Supersport 300 World Championship
* November:
Campeonato Portugal de Velocidade ''Estoril Endurance Festival''
; Former
*
24H Series
The 24H Series is a sports car racing and touring car racing series developed by Creventic and with approval from the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It features Group GT3, GT3-spec cars, Group GT4, GT4-spec cars, Sports car r ...
** ''12 Hours of Estoril'' (2023)
*
A1 Grand Prix (2005)
*
Auto GP (2004, 2014)
*
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, commonly abbreviated as the DTM, is a sports car racing series sanctioned by ADAC. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The series currently races a modified version of Group GT3 gra ...
(2004)
*
EFDA Nations Cup (1992–1993)
*
Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 (1999, 2001, 2005, 2007–2008, 2016)
*
Eurocup Mégane Trophy (2005, 2007–2008)
*
Eurocup-3
Eurocup-3 is a formula racing series regulated according to Formula Regional regulations. The series is founded for levelling up the competition for all drivers, with each team committing on a maximum budget of €400,000 every season.
History ...
(2023)
*
Euroformula Open Championship
The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
(2001–2007, 2015–2018, 2022)
*
European Formula Two Championship (1975–1977)
*
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
** ''
4 Hours of Estoril'' (2011, 2014–2016)
*
European Touring Car Championship
The European Touring Car Championship was an international touring car racing series organised by the FIA. It had two incarnations, the first one between 1963 and 1988, and the second between 2000 and 2004. In 2005 it was superseded by the World ...
(1977–1978, 1985–1988, 2001–2003)
*
European Touring Car Cup (2006)
*
European Truck Racing Cup (2003)
*
F4 Spanish Championship (2017, 2023)
*
Ferrari Challenge Europe (2023)
*
FIA GT Championship (2000–2003)
*
FIA Sportscar Championship
** ''
FIA Sportscar Championship Estoril'' (2002–2003)
*
FIM Endurance World Championship
The Endurance World Championship ( FIM EWC) is the premier worldwide endurance championship in motorcycle road racing. The championship season consists of a series of endurance races (with a duration of six, eight, twelve or twenty-four hours) ...
** ''12 Hours of Estoril'' (1987, 2000, 2020–2021)
*
FIM Women's Motorcycling World Championship (2024)
*
Formula Chrysler Euroseries (2001)
*
Formula 3 Euro Series (2004)
*
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
** ''
Portuguese Grand Prix'' (1984–1996)
*
Formula Renault 2.0 West European Cup (1987, 1999, 2001, 2008)
*
Formula Renault 3.5 Series (2005, 2007–2008)
*
French Formula Three Championship (1972)
*
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
** ''
Portuguese motorcycle Grand Prix'' (2000–2012)
*
GT3 Le Mans Cup (2016)
*
IMSA European Le Mans Series
** ''
Estoril 1000km'' (2001)
*
International Formula 3000 (1985, 1994–1996)
*
International GT Open (2006, 2008, 2015–2018, 2022)
*
International Touring Car Championship (1995–1996)
*
Italian Formula Renault Championship (2001)
*
Porsche Supercup
The Porsche Supercup (officially known as Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, known as Porsche Michelin Supercup prior to 2007 and often abbreviated as PSC) is an international One-design racing, one-make production stock car racing series supporting the ...
(1994, 1996)
*
Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup (2007–2008, 2011–2012)
*
Renault Sport Trophy
The Renault Sport Trophy was a One-Design, one-make racing series created and managed by Renault Sport. The series has raced with the Renault Sport R.S. 01 in 2015 and 2016 as part of the Renault Sport Series (formerly World Series by Renault), b ...
(2016)
*
SEAT León Eurocup (2008, 2015–2016)
*
Stock Car Brasil
The BRB Stock Car Pro Series, formerly known as Stock Car Brasil, is a touring car racing, touring car auto racing series based in Brazil organized by Vicar. It is considered the major Brazilian and South American motorsports series. Starting in ...
(1982)
*
Superleague Formula
Superleague Formula was an Open wheel car, open wheel single seater Formula racing, motor racing formula, which started in 2008, at Donington Park in the United Kingdom. The league introduced team sponsorship by association football clubs. It u ...
** ''
Superleague Formula round Portugal'' (2008–2009)
*
TCR International Series
The TCR International Series was an international Touring car racing, touring car championship. The championship was promoted by World Sporting Consulting (WSC), founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti. It was ma ...
(2016)
* (2017, 2023–2024)
*
Ultimate Cup Series
The Ultimate Cup Series is an auto racing series formed in 2019. This endurance championship mainly takes place in France, with rounds elsewhere in Europe.
The Ultimate Cup Series is a program comprising multiple endurance and sprint championshi ...
(2019, 2021, 2023)
*
V de V Series (2007–2018)
*
World Series by Nissan (2001, 2004)
*
World Touring Car Championship
The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...
** ''
FIA WTCC Race of Portugal'' (2008)
*
World Touring Car Cup
** ''
FIA WTCR Race of Portugal'' (2021)
Major event winners
Motorcycling - Portuguese Grand Prix
Notes
References
External links
Satellite picture at Google Maps.*
Audio walkthrough of the track, for use with games.
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