70th Aniv GP: First win for Max

Max Verstappen has become the first non-Mercedes driver to win a race in 2020, the Red Bull racer winning out in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix from the Mercedes pairing of Lewis Hamilton and polesitter Valtteri Bottas after an incredible display at Silverstone.

Different strategy for Max paid off

Max’s gamble using hard tyres in Q2 yesterday paid off superbly. After passing Nico Hulkenberg at the start, he moved within range of the Mercedes drivers as their medium compound tyres quickly started to fade.

While Max’s team initially discouraged him from following the Mercedes too closely, he wasn’t keen on the idea, and was breathing down Lewis Hamilton’s neck after early leader Valtteri Bottas pitted.

Verstappen stretched his advantage after Hamilton pitted, and almost had enough of a lead to jump the pair of them before he came in. He emerged from the pits between the two black cars, and immediately passed Bottas for the lead.

Verstappen took medium tyres at that stop, and was soon back in, joined by Bottas, to switch back to hards to run to the end.

Meanwhile Albon had a good race too. He started on 9th, did some impressive overtakes and finished on 5th. Satisfactory for him but not that great given that the other Red Bull won the race.

Mercedes missed out on tyre management

Despite angry blisters on his tyres, Hamilton delayed his second pit stop, allowing him to attack at the end of the race. One he rejoined, he quickly passed Charles Leclerc despite a firm defensive move from the Ferrari driver, then went after Bottas.

Bottas was powerless to do anything to stop his team mate passing him in the DRS zone. Hamilton shot past with ease on the Wellington straight, but was never going to be able to catch Verstappen, and took the chequered flag 11 seconds behind his rival.

Slight disappointment for Racing Point

Alas there was no fairytale ending for Nico Hulkenburg. He was passed on by Max right at the start. Nico was consistent throughout the race. However an additional pitstop right at the end cost him dearly. He finished in the 7th place. Lance started at 6th and he finished in the same position.

Ferrari : Impressive Charles, out of touch Sebastian

Charles started eight on the grid, given the lackluster performance of the Ferrari engine. He had a very good race though, driving under the radar but consistent. He managed the tyres well and finished 4th. Charles and Ferrari must be mighty pleased with the performance, given the current dire circumstances.

Vettel continues to struggle. He just spun on the first lap, without touching anyone, sending him back to the grid. He made up places but still ended up 12th. Ferrari and Seb need to talk. Their relationship is getting awkward by the day. Charles is literally carrying Ferrari on his shoulders.

Reversal of fortunes for the Renault boys

Daniel had a very good qualy session, being 5th on the grid. However the struggled to keep up the pace on race day and finished way behind on 14th.

His teammate Ocon on the other hand did a very good job, finishing the race in points, on 8th position.

McLaren lacked the pace

Both the McLaren cars lacked the pace and did not punch above the weight, something we got used to this year. Lando managed to be in the points on 9th position whereas Carlos finished 13th.

Pierre Gasly had a superb qualy, starting the race on 7th position. However he had tyre issues too. He pitted too early, had blisters on rear left and finished 11th. Kyvat did better. He started a lowly 16th but finished in the points on 10th position.

Alpha Romeo, HAAS, and Williams as usual were the back markers.

Max all the way!

It was refreshing to see some competition to the Mercedes cars, which look so dominant. The three way fight between Lewis, Valtteri and Max was amazing to watch for the fans. Fans would be hoping to see the same tight race again in the season, not just Mercedes cars running away. Also noticeable was how different this race turned out to be from the previous one, despite being on the same track and just a week apart.

2020 season just came alive!!

Final race classification :-