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KEY MOMENTS
* Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s masterful tyre strategy helped him win
the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix from fourth on the grid. He was the only one
of the top 10 on the grid to start on the hard tyre, and used their
durability to run a longer first stint, which allowed him to move into the
lead and then defend his advantage.
* Verstappen used a hard-medium-hard strategy, one of only two drivers to do
so (the other was McLaren’s Carlos Sainz). Verstappen finished ahead of both
Mercedes, which started from first and second on the grid, and used a
similar medium-hard-hard strategy.
* Nearly all the drivers stopped twice, but Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc
stopped just once to move from eighth on the grid to fourth at the finish.
Renault’s Esteban Ocon was the only other driver to finish in the top 10
with just one stop. Both Leclerc and Ocon started on medium and then went on
to hard.
Four drivers stopped three times, with 19 drivers out of 20 finishing the
race.
* Temperatures were slightly warmer than yesterday, with track temperatures
in excess of 40 degrees centigrade throughout the race and a tyre nomination
that was one step softer than last week’s British Grand Prix.
HOW EACH TYRE PERFORMED
HARD C2: This was key to Verstappen’s victory, which was set up by his
decision to use the white tyre in Q2 yesterday, and so start the race with
it. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton also used this tyre to set fastest lap in
the race and claim an extra championship point.
MEDIUM C3: The other key to the race was the equivalent of last weekend’s
soft tyre, used by the majority of drivers to start the 70th Anniversary
Grand Prix.
SOFT C4: The softest tyre ever nominated for Silverstone was only used by
Racing Point’s Nico Hulkenberg for the final stint today, but it still
provided a fundamental element to the race weekend by prompting some lateral
thinking on strategy with the other available compounds.
MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF F1 AND CAR RACING
“This weekend’s race was all about pure strategy, judged to perfection by
Red Bull and Max Verstappen. His strategy began on Saturday afternoon, with
the brave decision to run the hard tyre in Q2 and so start the race with it,
which clearly paid off. Once he had gained track position by virtue of his
longer first stint, he was able to control both the Mercedes behind him,
which had nonetheless shown the pace to qualify first and second. Although
Silverstone is one of the most demanding tracks on tyres, and the compounds
were a step softer than last week, this all provided a challenge that helped
to spice up the show. We saw some blistering as expected, but only on a few
cars and nothing that affected the race outcome. Tyre management was an
integral part of the tactics today, but the drivers certainly rose to the
occasion and the viewers enjoyed an exciting and unpredictable race” |