Autosport Plus

How ruthless Verstappen exploited Mercedes’s Silverstone strength-turned-weakness

Employing a contra strategy in qualifying gave Red Bull's Max Verstappen an early edge in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. But the manner of the defeat he inflicted on Mercedes reflected a key weakness in the W11

Alex Kalinauckas Aug 10, 2020, 3:33 PM

There can be no doubt that the Mercedes W11 is the class of the 2020 Formula 1 field. But, for several key reasons, the moment it showed the slightest weakness, Max Verstappen and Red Bull were able to punch straight through the defences of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to win the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

It had been business as usual in qualifying, where Bottas took pole 0.928 seconds clear of Nico Hulkenberg in a sensational third place for Racing Point. But the grid-setting session is a crucial place to start when it comes to the reasons for Mercedes' defeat.

Share Or Save This Story

Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.