70th Anniversary Grand Prix – Race: Max Verstappen Stronger Than Mercedes

A week ago, Mercedes was dominating head and shoulders until the 50th lap, with two sudden punctures for Bottas and Hamilton. Hamilton managed to win the race by a narrow margin of 5 seconds over Verstappen, but the penalty was a close call. This time, the Red Bull driver found the key to winning against the Mercedes.

The key to success this weekend at Silverstone was indeed tire management. Pirelli came this weekend with softer tire compounds than last week. To the point that very few drivers used the soft tires this weekend because their endurance was so low on the English track.

Most drivers opted for a more or less staggered two-stop strategy. This is the case with the podium finishers who used hard tires first, then mediums. Other drivers chose a one-stop strategy, relying on the longevity of the hard tires.

After 52 laps of racing, it was ultimately Max Verstappen’s Red Bull that was the fastest. With an explosive first stint on hard tires where he held off the Mercedes drivers, he eventually took advantage of pit stops to overtake Bottas and Hamilton and finish in the lead.

Hamilton was still in third place a few laps before the finish before gaining the upper hand on his teammate thanks to less worn tires.

Charles Leclerc finishes 4th for Ferrari where Vettel scores no points. Albon finishes 5th and scores good points after a strong comeback against the Racing Points. Lance Stroll is 6th ahead of Hülkenberg who finishes 7th despite 3 pit stops. The German driver could probably have fought for a podium place with a different strategy. Ocon is 8th in the Renault, ahead of Norris in the first McLaren and Kvyat in the first AlphaTauri.

Daniel Ricciardo had to pit for a third time, losing any chance of finishing in the points. The Renault driver spun while defending against Carlos Sainz, who was attempting an overtake.

Note the retirement of Kevin Magnussen, who no longer had hard enough tires to continue the race. Rather than fitting soft tires, the team preferred to retire.

Results of the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix, Sunday, August 9, 2020: