Max Verstappen ends Mercedes dominance with superb Silverstone victory at 70th Anniversary Grand Prix

Tom Cary
·33-min read
Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 09, 2020 in Northampton, England - Getty Images Europe
Race winner Max Verstappen of Netherlands and Red Bull Racing celebrates in parc ferme during the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 09, 2020 in Northampton, England - Getty Images Europe

It was not the birthday party Formula 1 expected. But it was undoubtedly the one it needed.

Max Verstappen gatecrashed the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone. Refusing to drive “like a grandma”, Red Bull’s erstwhile enfant terrible took the fight to the much-fancied Mercedes cars of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, and in doing so breathed a bit of much-needed life into this championship.

Verstappen’s brilliant win lifted the Dutchman above Bottas and into second place in the drivers’ championship. The 22 year-old still finds himself a massive 30 points behind Hamilton, as Bottas was before him. And he is still in an inferior car. But crucially, Verstappen proved that with the right strategy and given the right conditions - high track temperatures allied to the softer compounds of tyre ensured it was generally a two-stop race rather than a one stop - he can beat Mercedes.

Even Hamilton, whose eventual second place brought him level with Michael Schumacher on 155 career podium finishes, welcomed that finding.

"I think it's great,” Hamilton said of Red Bull’s competitiveness. “As I said [last weekend], I want to have races when they're challenging, like today. Obviously the Red Bull seems to be quite close in race conditions to us. And today stronger. But I think it's good, it will be interesting to see their progression through the rest of the year and I definitely will not overlook them.”

It was a much more interesting race than last weekend’s British Grand Prix, that is for sure.

Last Sunday was only really rescued by those three late punctures, which made for a thrilling conclusion. But that disguised the fact that Mercedes were on another level to their rivals for 50 of the 52 laps.

With Pirelli providing softer compounds of rubber for this race, there were opportunities for different strategies to play out. Teams and drivers had to be more nimble, more adaptable.

The big question at the start was whether Bottas could hold off his team-mate heading down to Turn 1. In the event, he did so rather easily. Most of the grid got away cleanly, in fact, apart from Sebastian Vettel whose miserable run of form continues.

The four-time world champion, currently without a team for next year, started 11th, spun his Ferrari at the first corner through driver error - nearly wiping out McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Haas’s Romain Grosjean in the process - lost his rag with his team, telling them they had “messed up” by releasing him into traffic, and ended up finishing 12th, nearly a minute behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc who took a very impressive fourth using a rare one-stop strategy. It was another dismal day for Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel spins his Ferrari at the first corner - SHUTTERSTOCK
Sebastian Vettel spins his Ferrari at the first corner - SHUTTERSTOCK

At the sharp end of the race, things were far more lively. Bottas and Hamilton had both started on the ‘medium’ tyre compound, the middle of the three compounds available, whereas Verstappen had started on the ‘hard’. And it took just six laps for Mercedes’ drivers to start reporting tyre wear, Bottas telling his team that his front left was “critical”.

Verstappen, who had been managing the gap to the front two with ease, scented blood. When his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase told him to “pull back” to conserve his tyres, Verstappen gave him joyously short shrift. "Mate - this is the only chance of being close to the Mercedes,” he shot back. “I'm not just sitting behind like a grandma!"

He was as good as his word, swiftly catching up to the two Mercedes cars in front of him and applying huge pressure. Bottas pitted on lap 13, and Hamilton, with Verstappen right on his tail, came in one lap later, shortly after reporting that his rear tyres were “finished”.

Verstappen proceeded to put his foot to the floor, actually extending his advantage over the two Mercedes who then ran into problems with tyre blistering despite their newer ‘hard’ tyres. Verstappen eventually pitted on lap 26, exactly halfway through the race, emerging between the two Mercedes. But he wasted no time in passing Bottas around the outside at Luffield and then continued to manage the gap to the cars behind him brilliantly.

The only question then was whether one of the front three might dare to try a one-stop. Verstappen, now on the medium tyre, was never likely to. He stopped again six laps later to switch back to the hard tyre, and Bottas followed him in, the Finn's hopes of victory now over.

Hamilton stayed out for another nine laps, his tyres badly blistered. But the extra laps did mean that, when he did finally come in on lap 41, with 11 to go, he had much fresher rubber for the final part of the race.

Hamilton quickly passed Leclerc and then Bottas, shooting past his team-mate into Brooklands with two laps to go. But Verstappen was still 11 seconds up the road by that point. The young Dutchman even had time to joke with his pitwall about staying hydrated and keeping their hands sanitised. "This is what you get when you keep pushing,” he shouted after crossing the line, a clear reference to his earlier ‘grandma’ quip. “We're definitely going to celebrate this one."

Even Hamilton seemed happy to celebrate. With the fastest lap bonus point also going his way, and his 30-point lead in tact, he could afford to be gracious.

But he admitted he would be watching the Red Bulls a little closer from now on. “I don't think [this year’s title] is going to be easy by any means,” he said. “I don't think my team has that mentality anyway. I was hoping to have some sort of race [with Verstappen] by the end. Maybe in future we will get to." One can only hope.

70th Anniversary Grand Prix
70th Anniversary Grand Prix

03:11 PM

Okay, that is it from me today

Thanks for joining me. Very, very good race that. No more boring one-stop races, though.  Please! We go to Spain next weekend where the temperatures are likely to be similarly hot. Could that create a similar situation as here? There are three quick right-handers on that track, as there are on this one. A bit more low-speed, though. 

Stay tuned for more from Tom Cary at Silverstone and some post-race analysis from me tomorrow morning, too. Enjoy the rest of your weekends. 

02:55 PM

Here's why Racing Point pitted Hulkenberg again

02:54 PM

Could it have been anyone else?

02:52 PM

Updated constructor standings

Who had a good weekend? Red Bull. Racing Point? Mixed bag for most teams, really. 

Don't think this takes Racing Point's 15-point penalty into account, though.  

02:51 PM

Bottas describing Mercedes as "sleeping"

That is pretty much a direct criticism. You don't often see that. Especially not from Bottas. Feels a bit Barichello/Raikkonen at Ferrari-esque, that. 

Bottas and Hamilton speak after the race - Reuters/Ben Stansall

02:45 PM

An unhappy Bottas on a disappointing third

Very frustrating, starting from pole and finishing third is not ideal. As a team we were sleeping at some point.  My strategy was far from ideal. Some things to learn. As soon as I started to push towards the end, the tyres fell apart. 

He was on pole position, kept his lead at the start of the race but then Verstappen put the hammer down. He was hampered strategically, I think, by his team. Questions at Mercedes today, for sure.  

02:43 PM

Hamilton reacts to a damage limitation second

Massive challenge. Congratulations to the Red Bull team and Max. Definitely unexpedted to have the blistering as hardcore as we experienced it. I am sure the team will be working as hard as they can because we have not had that before. I don't know if anyone else struggled with blistering like we had. 

The first stint was really difficult. That second stint, I was managing like you couldn't believe but it didn't make a single difference to the blistering. 

02:42 PM

Verstappen reacts to his win

I didn't see it coming. After the first stint it seemed like we were really good on tyres. We had a lot of pace in the car. We just had a great day. We had the right strategy. Everything was running smooth.  I tried to put the pressure on, they had to pit. From there on we could run at our own pace. I think we do need to use soft tyres, that seems to suit our car. 

02:40 PM

Updated driver standings

Verstappen up into second. 

02:38 PM

Who made a one-stopper work?

Leclerc in P4, Ocon in P8. Raikkonen also only stopped once but I am not sure P15 is making it "work". Mind you, that is probably a commendable performance in the rotten Alfa Romeo. 

That's a good result for Ocon, there. Ricciardo, after his fourth last weekend, had a bit of a scrappy day, spinning and ending up well outside of the points. Decent from Hulkenberg, P7. 

02:35 PM

Race classification

  1. VER
  2. HAM
  3. BOT
  4. LEC
  5. ALB
  6. STR
  7. HUL
  8. OCO
  9. NOR
  10. KVY
  11. GAS
  12. VET
  13. SAI
  14. RIC
  15. RAI
  16. GRO
  17. GIO
  18. RUS
  19. LAT

OUT: MAG

That is a brilliant fourth place from Charles Leclerc. Vettel finished in P12. Another awful weekend for him. 

02:33 PM

MAX VERSTAPPEN WINS THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY GRAND PRIX

JUST FANTASTIC! MERCEDES DOMINANCE HAS BEEN ENDED WITH A BRILLIANT, BRILLIANT DRIVE! 

02:33 PM

FINAL LAP

Verstappen has been superb. Red Bull have been superb. Mercedes have struggled in the heat.  A truly brilliant team performance. 

02:32 PM

Lap 51 of 52 - Albon takes Stroll around the outside of Copse

He's up into P5. Only a disaster can stop his team-mate Max Verstappen winning this one. He has driven brilliantly all weekend. And all last weekend. And all season...think he'll move up into second in the championship as it stands. 

02:31 PM

Lap 50 of 52 - Hamilton has DRS on Bottas

And breezes past Bottas well before the braking zone of Brooklands. I have to say Bottas is going to be furious at how this has worked out strategically for him. Hamilton has ended on the far more favourable strategy. Bottas kept his lead at the start and looked the must better bet when the tyres were graining in the second stint...

02:29 PM

Lap 49 of 52 - Verstappen leads by 7.7s

Hamilton within DRS range of Bottas. This is a fight Bottas cannot win. Wonder how much he will fight it. Both Mercedes cars have done slightly different strategies and it has not really worked out for Bottas. Can he hold onto second and eat into Hamilton's lead?

02:27 PM

Lap 48 of 52 - Bottas struggling, Hamilton gaining, gaining, gaining

This race has been a bit better, hasn't it? Bottas has got no chance of keeping Hamilton behind here, I'm afraid. He's told he is free to race Hamilton. Albon closing up on Stroll now quite quickly. 

02:26 PM

Lap 47 of 52 - Top 10

  1. VER
  2. BOT
  3. HAM
  4. LEC
  5. STR
  6. ALB
  7. HUL
  8. OCO
  9. NOR
  10. KVY

02:26 PM

Lap 46 of 52 - Hulkenberg drops to P7

And he's on the soft tyres. Not sure this will work out that well for him. Albon going well in P6 now, a few seconds behind Stroll. Tell you what, Hamilton is edging closer and closer to Bottas, who is approaching traffic. This could be interesting but Hamilton will have much, much better grip in his tyres. 

Verstappen now leads Bottas by 6.2s

02:24 PM

Lap 45 of 52 - Can Hamilton get Leclerc quickly?

Nope. Not early on the lap, anyway. Stowe looking like the best chance but this might end his chances of taking Bottas for second. He puts it through the inside of Stowe, Leclerc tries to fight it but resistance is futile! He makes it stick.

No word on him picking up a pit lane speeding penalty, so I assume that is all fine. 

Magnussen out now, by the way. Awful weekend for him. 

02:22 PM

Lap 44 of 52 - Top 10

  1. VER
  2. BOT
  3. LEC
  4. HAM
  5. HUL
  6. STR
  7. ALB
  8. OCO
  9. NOR
  10. KVY

Hamilton has to hold back on Leclerc into Stowe. He will breeze past him on these fresh tyres when he gets the chance. He's the quickest man on the track by far now. Hulkenberg pits again, which is a little surprising. 

02:21 PM

Lap 43 of 52 - Verstappen leads Bottas by 4.5s

And he surely has him covered. The question is, I guess, where Hamilton finishes. Does he have the pace to get second over Bottas. Hamilton has much fresher tyres. He's only five seconds behind him with nine laps to go...I think he will get Bottas here if he makes it past Leclerc. Verstappen probably a bit too far down the field. 

02:19 PM

Lap 42 of 52 - Verstappen now takes the lead

Hamilton is going to come out ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and in P4 but he's about six seconds behind Leclerc. That was a desperate lock up on the pit entry. He might have just made it down to the required speed, though. Verstappen leads Bottas by 4.3s. Leclerc 2.6s behind Bottas. Don't think Leclerc is going to pit, though, but he will have Hamilton on his rear very soon. 

02:17 PM

Lap 41 of 52 - Leclerc is closing up on Bottas

Verstappen is told to push now. Okay. What does that mean, then? It means a very, very interesting final 10 laps or so. Could this turn out to be a nightmare for Bottas? I have no idea how this is going to play out here...

Surely Mercedes won't risk another tyre failure on Hamilton? No. He comes in...He locks up on the pit lane entry. Speeding in the pit lane? That'd be something...

02:15 PM

Lap 40 of 52 - Running order

  1. HAM
  2. VER
  3. BOT
  4. LEC
  5. HUL
  6. STR
  7. ALB
  8. OCO
  9. NOR
  10. KVY
  11. GAS
  12. VET
  13. SAI
  14. RIC
  15. RAI
  16. RUS
  17. LAT
  18. GIO
  19. GRO
  20. MAG

Hamilton's hard tyres have already done 25 laps here. I can't see him getting to the end of the race on them. It's surely a matter of when and not if. Verstappen keeping it steady behind him in second, 9.4s behind and 3.4s ahead of Bottas.  

02:14 PM

Lap 39 of 52 - Charles Leclerc running nicely in P4

On 20 lap old hard tyres. And he's lapping at the pace of the leaders. Hulkenerg is 14 seconds behind him. Vettel watch: he runs wide at Stowe, is generally pretty unhappy and running in 12th...

02:13 PM

Lap 38 of 52 - Verstappen told he has the pace if he has the tyres

So he's not taking life out of them at the moment. But, should Hamilton try and hold on, he can give it the big heave-ho. There are not a ton of laps left in this race, though...

His pace is good at the moment. What lap do Red Bull tell Verstappen to give it full pace?

02:11 PM

Lap 37 of 52 - Verstappen 2.29s ahead of Bottas

Verstappen 11s behind Hamilton. 16 laps or so to go. This is going to be a very interesting finish. I can't see Hamilton doing a one-stopper here. It's perhaps an outside chance. Will it compromise Hamilton's chances of a podium? I don't think so, unless the tyres give way like last week. 

02:10 PM

Lap 36 of 52 - Mercedes seem to be going for the one stop for Hamilton

Interesting... the team think the tyres will last. 

02:09 PM

Lap 35 of 52 - Are Mercedes going to leave Hamilton out?

I can't see it working. He was only three-tenths slower than Verstappen, though. Could the tyres come back to him a bit? Albon sends one around the outside of Stowe to take Albon for P8... nice move but his team-mate is favourite for the race...

02:07 PM

Lap 34 of 52 - Top 10 runners and gaps

  1. HAM
  2. VER +11.1
  3. BOT +13.5
  4. LEC +15.2
  5. HUL +28.0
  6. STR +30.0
  7. KVY +43.4
  8. OCO +46.2
  9. SAI +46.7
  10. ALB +47.4

Hamilton will surely need to stop again, though.  

02:05 PM

Lap 33 of 52 - Hamilton not in the best of places right now

Struggling. His tyres look shot. I think he will have the pace to hang onto third unless something strange happens. He stays out, though, which is a little odd. He was quicker than Hulkenberg at the end of that lap, though. 

02:04 PM

Lap 32 of 52 - Top two runners stop!

They will all be going onto the hard tyres until the end of the race. Verstappen keeps the lead. But this could be a tasty fight until the chequered flag...

Hamilton stays out and inherits the lead but he will surely be in the next lap as well. 

02:03 PM

Lap 31 of 52 - Ricciardo spins!

I said it was getting tight there, not sure if he tried to get too bold and make a move. Verstappen sets the fastest lap after being told to unleash his full pace. Hulkenberg has pitted, presumably for some hard tyres. He will go to the end. Ricciardo spun racing Sainz, not sure if there was contact or he just spun it by getting too early on the throttle. 

02:01 PM

Lap 30 of 52 - Bottas's pace picking up

Hamilton's is not. Is the Hulkenberg podium on here? Verstappen is told to push, push, push. He wants to fully send it. One more stop for him, then. It is getting very, very tight in the battle for P8 at the moment, Ocon leading a train of Kvyat, Ricciardo, Sainz and Vettel. 

01:59 PM

Lap 29 of 52 - Full running order

  1. VER
  2. BOT
  3. HAM
  4. HUL
  5. STR
  6. LEC
  7. NOR
  8. ALB
  9. OCO
  10. KVY
  11. RIC
  12. SAI
  13. VET
  14. GIO
  15. GRO
  16. GAS
  17. RAI
  18. RUS
  19. LAT
  20. MAG

Verstappen has a much slower lap than Bottas. Well, three tenths or so...2.2s the gap between the two.  

01:58 PM

Lap 28 of 52 - This is now Red Bull's race to lose

Hulkenberg in P4 is lapping nearly a second quicker than Hamilton. The gap between the two now down below 10s. Magnussen picks up a five second time penalty for his move on Latifi earlier on. Deserved. 

 

01:56 PM

Lap 27 of 52 - Verstappen sails around the outside of Bottas at Luffield for the lead!

He wasn't second for long! Much, much, much more grip on the Red Bull there. What will the gap be at the end of the lap? Two seconds?! 

1.9 in the end...

01:54 PM

Lap 26 of 52 - Hulkenberg going well here

Verstappen pits! For the mediums. He needs to run them at some stage. Think this will be a short stint. Perhaps 10-15 laps. Will he get out ahead of Bottas?

No he won't! It was a slightly slow stop but Verstappen will surely get past him at the earliest possible opportunity.

01:53 PM

Lap 25 of 52 - Mercedes cannot take this level of heat

18 seconds from Verstappen to Bottas and 23 to Hamilton. Verstappen's tyres look absolutely fine. And he's lapping at least half a second quicker than either Mercedes. In fact, last time around he was 1.5s quicker than Hamilton, who is really struggling here. 

Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas leads Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton through a corner during the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 9, 2020 in Northampton. - The race commemorates the 70th anniversary of the inaugural world championship race, held at Silverstone in 1950 -  ANDREW BOYERS/POOL/AFP

01:51 PM

Lap 24 of 52 - Top 10

  1. VER
  2. BOT
  3. HAM
  4. HUL
  5. STR
  6. RIC
  7. LEC
  8. NOR
  9. ALB
  10. GAS

Think it's going to take a retirement in the top three for Hulkenberg to get a podium. Bottas complaining about his rear tyres. Verstappen has a pit stop ahead of Hamilton. Mercedes' tyres are shot. They have changed them, Verstappen hasn't. Mercedes will have to stop maybe even another twice with this level of degradation.  We are only at half distance! Not even. Of course it may be easier with lighter fuel loads but still...

01:48 PM

Lap 23 of 52 - Verstappen: "My tyres feel good, mate"

He's the quickest man on track by absolute miles now. Again he's taking over half a second out of the Mercedes cars last time around. Is this just too warm for them? That seems to be the case. 

01:47 PM

Lap 22 of 52 - "Verstappen is the real threat if he's one stopping"

Hamilton is told that. Mercedes are losing BAGS of time to Verstappen out front. One and 1.4s respectively the last time around. This is... unusual. Verstappen HAS to be the favourite now? Surely. 

01:46 PM

Lap 21 of 52 - Mercedes tyre managing?

Their lap times have dropped off now...Verstappen was half a second quicker than both of them last time around. Their tyres do not look all that great despite having much fresher tyres. That is interesting...

Is Verstappen now the favourite for this race? Or is this extreme management from Bottas and Hamilton?

01:45 PM

Lap 20 of 52 - Leclerc and Norris going at it

Leclerc keeps the place in the end, nice action though. 

01:43 PM

Lap 19 of 52 -Verstappen would comfortably come out P3 now

Albon and Gasly go side-by-side into Brooklands and Luffield but Gasly defends well. Gasly's left rear is well and truly done. He's already stopped, though, so not sure what's happened there. Perhaps this will be another certified tyre eater of a race. 

01:42 PM

Lap 18 of 52 - Norris takes Grosjean for 12th

Around the outside of Stowe. Racing Point keeping Stroll out... no they're not. He's in! He will drop from second. Leclerc also pits. How long will Verstappen stay out? 

Magnussen getting very fighty with Latifi. Will that be looked at? Looked like the Williams had to move to avoid a collision. 

01:40 PM

Lap 17 of 52 - Top 10

  1. VER*
  2. STR*
  3. BOT
  4. HAM
  5. LEC*
  6. SAI*
  7. HUL
  8. OCO*
  9. KVY*
  10. RIC

*yet to pit. 

01:39 PM

Lap 16 of 52 - Racing Point pit Hulkenberg

He comes out in P7. Bottas now has 3.8 or so on Bottas. Bottas is lapping a second a lap quicker than Verstappen at the moment. The end of the race is where it will come to Verstappen, though. 

01:38 PM

Lap 15 of 52 - Hamilton is out behind Leclerc

That'll be handy for Bottas. Not that the Ferrari will be much of an obstacle at the moment. Meanwhile, Albon makes a brilliant move around the outside of Copse to take Raikkonen for P15. 

Hamilton gets past Leclerc quickly, aided by DRS. Those mediums really were done. 

01:36 PM

Lap 14 of 52 - Bottas comes out in P6

And in traffic. Verstappen not quite close enough in the early part of the lap. Or the middle of the lap. Hamilton to come in now? Surely. His tyres look awful. Verstappen will get past but not on the track. Yep, he's coming in...

Hamilton could end up behind Leclerc, though, that is the danger. Maybe even behind Sainz...

Verstappen inherits the lead...

01:34 PM

Lap 13 of 52 - Verstappen has a look into Copse!

But bails out. Verstappen is all over him through the high speed. He gets a wobble on at the exit onto the Hangar Straight and might not quite be close enough... he's not. Bottas pits...

01:33 PM

Lap 12 of 52 - Verstappen all over the back of Hamilton now!

The Mercedes are struggling with their tyres. "The rears are finished," Hamilton says. I wonder if they will think about pulling them in now. Verstappen has to push here and pressure them into a mistake, an early pit stop or to compromise their strategy. He has to if he wants to win the race. 

01:32 PM

Lap 11 of 52 - Hamilton nearly within DRS range of Bottas

But Verstappen nearly within DRS range of him. Not sure why we're not seeing much of it on TV. Verstappen told he's a bit too close and told to worry about his tyres. He replies and says it's the only chance of him racing the Mercedes ahead. He's right, to be fair. 

01:29 PM

Lap 10 of 52 - Top 10

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. HIL
  5. STR
  6. RIC
  7. NOR
  8. LEC
  9. SAI
  10. OCO

01:28 PM

Lap 9 of 52 - Quite spread out across the field now

Plenty of drivers pitting early. Russell the latest man to come in and switch for the hard tyres. Suppose these guys will go onto a medium-hard-hard strategy. Going 20 or so laps on each set of the hards. Verstappen now within DRS range of Hamilton... that's interesting!

01:27 PM

Lap 8 of 52 - Verstappen is in this race now

On the harder tyres and only 1.6s behind Hamilton in second. He was three tenths quicker than Hamilton that time around, who is running in the dirty air of Bottas. 

01:25 PM

Lap 7 of 52 - Full running order

  1. BOT
  2. HAM +1.305
  3. VER +3.233
  4. HUL +9.277
  5. STR
  6. RIC
  7. GAS
  8. NOR
  9. LEC
  10. SAI
  11. OCO
  12. KVY
  13. MAG
  14. GIO
  15. GRO
  16. RUS
  17. VET
  18. RAI
  19. LAT
  20. ALB

Verstappen not losing too much ground to the Mercedes cars at the moment. Now Gasly pits. Chain reaction.  

01:24 PM

Lap 6 of 52 - Bottas told his front left is critical

For temperature, not wear presumanly. Vettel still not past Russell after another couple of laps...wonder if George will be enjoying that one. Hamilton has taken a couple of tenths out of Bottas's lead this time around. 

Mercedes' Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas (L) leads Mercedes' British driver Lewis Hamilton (R) on the second lap of the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 9, 2020 in Northampton. - The race commemorates the 70th anniversary of the inaugural world championship race, held at Silverstone in 1950 -  AFP

 Albon comes in and changes to the hard tyres. Definite two, possible three stopper? No, surely not a three stopper. He'll be out in clean air now. 

01:21 PM

Lap 5 of 52 - Good lap by Bottas

Increasing his lead to 1.3s and a little further outside of DRS range for the first time this race. Verstappen is 2.4s further down the road but 3.6s ahead of Hulkenberg. Could be another lonely race for the Dutchman. 

01:20 PM

Lap 4 of 52 - Hamilton and Bottas separated by a second

He's had DRS in sector one the last two laps. Verstappen gapping Hulkenberg now, who is gapping Stroll by about 1.5s. Albon hasn't made any progress. Russell has dropped back to P17 and is about to have Vettel on his gearbox. 

01:19 PM

Lap 3 of 52 - Seems that Vettel went round on his own

Another mistake from the Ferrari man, struggling at Silverstone again. Verstappen got a rocket start, there, to get up to P3. Vettel spun going into turn one by running too tight and slightly off the track, getting a tank slapper on and just spun. He so nearly went into the side of Carlos Sainz!

01:17 PM

Lap 2 of 52 - Top 10

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. VER
  4. HUL
  5. STR
  6. RIC
  7. GAS
  8. NOR
  9. ALB
  10. LEC

Bottas leads Hamilton by just over a second...

01:16 PM

The 70TH ANNIVERSARY GRAND PRIX IS GO!

Bottas keps the lead with a decent start, Hulkenberg loses his third place to the quick starting Verstappen! Someone has gone around at the back of the grid...

Hamilton tries a move on the outside in Brooklands but Bottas keeps his place by keeping it on the inside. It's close... Hamilton closes up going into Copse but can't get quite close enough. Hulkenberg in P4 now under pressure from Stroll, he keeps P4 at the end of the lap. 

It's Vettel at the very back! Not sure what happened to him but he's dead last...he spun but why?

01:14 PM

We are nearly ready to go...

...everyone onto the grid. Raikkonen very late to join. 

01:13 PM

Tyre types

Everyone in the top 10 apart from Verstappen on the mediums. Everyone else apart from Norris, Vettel, Sainz, Kvyat and Raikkonen also on the mediums. That handful of outliers are on the hards. Not one driver on the soft tyres. 

01:11 PM

Formation lap begins!

Everyone away cleanly. It's a sunny, hot, hot day at Silverstone. Roasting out there. 43c track temperature. 

01:08 PM

McLaren's worst qualifying of the season yesterday

Can they turn it around in the race? Think their race pace might be a little better. 

 Just two minutes until the formation lap begins. Hoping for a good one here. Not 49 laps of boredom and three laps of chaos. 

01:05 PM

Predictions?

I actually think that Bottas and Hamilton will have some type of contact in this race. I think, unfortunately for Nico Hulkenberg, Verstappen is nailed on for third here. Would be great to see Russell in the points. Very good chance of a safety car here (two last week), so that could also make things a bit different strategically. 

01:03 PM

Is this working?

Not sure having a 13/7 split is a really great look.  

12:57 PM

STARTING GRID

  1. BOT
  2. HAM
  3. HUL
  4. VER
  5. RIC
  6. STR
  7. GAS
  8. LEC
  9. ALB
  10. NOR
  11. VET
  12. SAI
  13. GRO
  14. OCO
  15. RUS
  16. KVY
  17. MAG
  18. LAT
  19. GIO
  20. RAI

12:56 PM

Esteban Ocon starts 14th today

After qualifying 11th and picking up a three place grid penalty. We spoke to him last week about having Fernando Alonso as a team-mate next year, having Daniel Ricciardo alongside him this year, and how it felt to be left out on the sidelines in 2019. You can read the exclusive interview here. 

Esteban Ocon - Reuters

12:51 PM

20 minutes to go

Bottas got alongside Hamilton from second on the grid last week but didn't really get his elbows out. Will Hamilton, starting from second today, try something a bit different?

12:44 PM

I do think tyre wear will be the issue of the day

It's a lot warmer this weekend than last weekend and the compounds are softer — albeit with a higher minimum mandated pressure. 

Will we see a repeat of last weekend's mayhem? Don't rule it out but the teams will be a lot more aware of it. 

British Grand Prix - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain - August 2, 2020 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton looks at his tyre after winning the race with a puncture on the final lap - Pool via REUTERS

12:37 PM

Well, they've managed to start Hulkenberg's car this week

Always a good start. 

12:35 PM

Current driver standings: Top 10

That 30 points is a gigantic gap for Bottas to close. He desperately needs to eat into it today. A win and Hamilton DNF would help him massively. I can't see it, though. 

12:31 PM

Today is the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix

So it is worth taking a trip down memory lane (the memory straight?) with some of the biggest names of Formula One. Tom Cary spoke to Mark Blundell, Murray Walker, Damon Hill, David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton about their most cherished memories of the sport.

A composite picture of old F1 memories at Silverstone

Read the full piece here. 

12:23 PM

Strategy chat from Pirelli

 Will be interesting tactically, although both Mercedes will almost certainly be on the same strategy initially. Plenty of variation, though, and with high tyre degradation and a packed midfield, I think we will see some unusual strategies for some. Verstappen, starting on the hard tyres, will be on eto watch out for. 

12:15 PM

Valtteri Bottas's pole lap yesterday

Two poles from the last three races here now. His 13th pole position in F1, that puts him level with Mark Webber, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jacques Villeneueve, Jacky Ickx, Jak Brabham and Graham Hill. 

12:10 PM

If you want to read more on the Racing Point saga

Then Tom Cary wrote about it earlier in the week. It's a little complicated and technical but not too difficult to understand. 

The controversy is set to rumble on for a while. Racing Point had already made it clear they would appeal if they lost. They have until this morning to do so.  Their rivals are similarly incensed. Ferrari and McLaren both last night signalled their intention to appeal and others may follow suit. McLaren chief executive Zak Brown described the verdict as “confusing”, saying “everything else” about the Racing Point car now needed to be questioned.

Read the full thing here.  

11:59 AM

Lawrence Stroll speaks

This is a bit of a strange one. Not so much that it has the tone of a hostage video, but the tone of a hostage video in a movie. 

11:29 AM

Good afternoon F1 fans

And welcome to our coverage for the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix from Silverstone. We did the British Grand Prix last week but, hey, Silverstone is a great track, so it's no great shame that we are doing it again.

Of course, Mercedes are massive favourites again — as they will be at every race this year — and that is a shame, but you can only work with what you've got. And qualifying yesterday was certainly interesting enough in the battle for pole position and then the fight for the remainder of the positions behind them. 

Here's what Tom Cary, at Silverstone for Telegraph Sport, had to say about it.

Hamilton has never been one to hide his emotions. After missing out on a 92nd career pole by just six hundredths of a second, the six-times world champion was noticeably downbeat in his press conference. Even when he is leading the championship by 30 points after four races, Hamilton demands more of himself.

The 35 year-old’s disappointment on Saturday could be Formula 1’s gain on Sunday. The race down to Abbey on lap 1 is going to be fascinating with Hamilton trying to pass Bottas and grab an early lead of the race.

Last weekend Bottas “chickened out” of making a move on Hamilton at the first corner, in the words of BBC commentator Jolyon Palmer. It will be interesting to watch them with roles reversed. 

Behind them, on a day when temperatures are expected once again to hit the mid-30s, there are plenty of interesting sub-plots. 

Third placed qualifier Nico Hulkenberg of Germany and Racing Point looks on in parc ferme during qualifying for the F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone on August 08, 2020 in Northampton, England -  Dan Istitene - Formula 1

The first of those is Nico Hulkenberg's fantastic performance as a substitute for Racing Point's Sergio Perez. Last weekend he didn't even start the race, having qualified in a slightly disappointing 13th. But today he will start third on the grid, the quickest non-Mercedes car. He was a full half second ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll. Can he claim that elusive podium?

Another is Max Verstappen, who managed to get through Q2 with the hard compound tyres on. That means he will start the race on them, the only driver in the top 10 to do so. With this week expected to be a firm two-stopper, can Verstappen pull something out of the bag here and upset maybe one of the Mercedes? That might be a step too far and he will need luck to do it.  

Were we to have a repeat of the Spanish Grand Prix in 2016, with both Mercedes taking each other out on the first lap, what a race we'd have.

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