Max Verstappen’s victory in the 70th anniversary Grand Prix over the previously all-conquering Mercedes team was ultimately a pleasant one, even though it was in fact built on the slimmest margins.
With heavy blows from rear tires, neither pole-setting Valtteri Bottas nor Lewis Hamilton were able to keep Verstappen’s Red Bull-Honda, which, after staying twice as long as an opening, kept itself in the lead. overturned and continued the race, untroubled by all tire problems.
Read more: Verstappen had an ‘incredible’ victory at Silverstone, saying ‘I did not see it coming!’
Uniquely, Verstappen had the hard tire run in Q2 and this enabled that longer first stint. But retrospectively suggests that simply determined the route to his victory, not the victory itself, which would probably have unfolded even if he had followed the same strategy as Mercedes.
There would always come a point where Mercedes’ tire problems would have compromised around the pit stop and Verstappen’s much superior pace could be used to jump past.
Verstappen said he hoped ‘other’ band strategy would work after qualifying for the 70th Anniversary GP
But if Mercedes had not suffered its tire problems, Verstappen’s hard tire Q2 strategy could have offered him a crucial advantage and perhaps even allowed him to compete for the win against a healthy Mercedes.
It was a strategy similar to the one Red Bull had attempted at the season-opening Austrian Grand Prix, where Verstappen retired early when he finished second between Mercedes and on a tighter tire, aiming for to go longer. We did not find out if it would have worked there – and we did not really here either, because his victory was guaranteed independently.
HIGHLIGHTS: Check out the key moments from Verstappen’s brilliant surprise win at Silverstone
Pirelli’s re-positioning of the connections for the race for the 70th Anniversary made it deliberately strategically difficult, in an attempt to distinguish the race seven days earlier from the British Grand Prix.
Moving the range a notch further, last week’s medium (the C2) became hard this week. Last week’s soft (the C3) became the new medium. This week’s soft (the C4) was essentially useless as a race band around Silverstone’s long, high G-whips, wildly overwintering even at the end of a single lap and implying an unpredictably slow and short race stint.
Just to spread it further, Pirelli assigned each car eight of these unsuitable tires, but only three of the medium and two of the hard. For the whole weekend.
Even over a qualifying match, the soft was not faster than the medium. It would be faster at the start of the round, but too hectic by the time they got to the Maggotts / Becketts sequence and therefore slower in the final sector.
HIGHLIGHTS: View all the action from an exciting qualifying session for the 70th anniversary Grand Prix
This allowed anyone to ignore the soft for Q2, saving the obligation to use it during the race. But the difference in single lap rate between medium and hard was significant. Which made Red Bull’s strategy of using the hard rather risky. Only Verstappen tried it.
Mercedes shrugged it off, in part because of their experience last week when Hamilton and Bottas each lost a set of mediums in qualifying – the former with a spin, the latter with gravel cuts. This week, seeing their apparent performance advantage, they were not inclined to take the risk, as one of only two sets of hards would potentially destroy their breed.
70th Anniversary Grand Prix: Sensational Verstappen wins at Silverstone
That was a double risk for Verstappen’s hard bond strategy. He might not be fast enough on them to make Q3 and if he somehow tracked them down or damaged them in the attempt, his racing strategy was doomed. Furthermore, he could only do one rune, because, with only two such sets assigned, he could not afford to burn both through. He delivered the round beautifully and error-free. But would it be fast enough?
Read more: Hamilton was happy to take P2 after ‘hardcore’ blistering presented ‘unexpected challenge’
He came through the ninth-fastest through, a few tenths before the cut. If Carlos Sainz or Sebastian Vettel had not been compromised, Verstappen’s gamble could have been brushed off.
“We thought it was the best opportunity to tackle the Mercedes, to do something different. And by starting with the hard band, we gave ourselves a chance, ”said Christian Horner. “I’m surprised no one else tried it.”
