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Why inflation left Mercedes poorer at Silverstone

Max Verstappen's surprise victory at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix came as Red Bull emerged kinder on its tyres than Mercedes' all-conquering W11, as the combination high-energy corners, heat and inflated pressures created a perfect storm

Jake Boxall-Legge Aug 10, 2020, 3:33 PM

"They're balloons now," said Lewis Hamilton of his Pirelli tyres post-70th Anniversary Grand Prix. "They're the highest pressures we've ever had on a track like that. I wouldn't be surprised if that was a thing for us, but I don't know if anyone else struggled with blistering like we had so it's something we'll look into."

And it's true. Between weekends, and perhaps in response to the softer grade of tyres being run and the trio of blow-outs last time out, the tyres had swelled up thanks to a change in the mandated tyre pressures.

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Author Jake Boxall-Legge

Jake studied engineering at university, as his original ambition was to design racing cars. He was bad at that, and thus decided to write about them instead with an equally limited skillset. The above article is a demonstration of that. In his spare time, Jake enjoys people, places, and things.