Silverstone always hosts utterly controversial races, and most of them happen to be spiced up by tyre-related issues or strategies. The 70th Anniversary GP actually comes as the aftermath of a scandalous multiple Pirelli tyre failure, which put the Italian manufacturer in a rather difficult position heading into the second race in Great Britain.

Mario Isola confirmed the tyre pressure change, having selected a one-step softer compound, which is the factor that caused most of the drama during and after the race. Drivers in the modern era are constantly flooded with criticism for not being vocal enough over their own opinions on strategy calls, but today’s race can definitely turn things around in that regard.

VERSTAPPEN AND HIS I-KNOW-WHAT-I-AM-DOING STYLE

Verstappen’s stellar performance at the 70th Anniversary GP definitely pleased the whole motorsport world, being the product of sheer determination displayed since the very beginning of the race. After an aggressive move on Hulkenberg at the start, Verstappen relentlessly chased down race leader Valtteri Bottas and ultimately ignored the warning coming from his pit wall regarding tyre management. The Dutchman bluntly fired back at his race engineer Lambiase, underlining that having the opportunity to challenge a struggling Mercedes is a rare occasion.

"I hate sitting back especially when you see the car is pretty decent. - he commented after the race - Sometimes it can be a bit of suicide, killing your tyres and trying to hang on desperately but I don't think that was the case today."

In the end, Verstappen’s gamble and ruthless approach paid off and were converted into a mighty race win, his first one in 2020. Therefore, in this case Max Verstappen’s gut feeling prevailed and brought him back to winning ways.

BOTTAS HITS OUT AT “SLEEPING” MERCEDES

Valtteri Bottas could not hide his frustration towards Mercedes’ strategy. After starting the race from pole, everything fell apart for the Finn, who lost out to teammate Lewis Hamilton and had to settle for P3.

Both Mercedes drivers experienced severe tyre management issues, causing them to opt for a two-stopper unlike race winner Max Verstappen.

“I think as a team, we were sleeping at some point when Max managed to get ahead of us, and my strategy was far, far from ideal. So lots to learn from today”.

“It was a blistering in the tyres today for us, and [it] seems like Red Bull had none, so they clearly had an edge over them.”

Valtteri Bottas is renowned for being quiet and diplomatic when it comes to expressing opinions with full disclosure. However, the Finn was rather vocal about the call made by the German team and ultimately Toto Wolff stepped forward to clear the air.

"I just spoke to Valtteri," said the Austrian when asked about his driver's comments. "I don't think we were sleeping, but I accept his perspective. I think we just had the slower car today, and we just admit that. His point was should we have done the opposite to Max”.

"As a matter of fact, this wouldn't have changed anything, because Max would have come out with a fresh tyre, and we would have continued with a tyre that wasn't in the best state any more, and he just pitted in front of us. So not sure what we could have done better.

VETTEL DELIBERATELY STUCK IN TRAFFIC?

Vettel’s struggle reel perhaps hit rock bottom at Silverstone, with the German openly criticising the team via radio and while facing the press. The four-time champion complained about the SF1000, urging the team to operate a chassis change, but the strategy employed by Ferrari caused some friction during the race. Vettel openly accused the team of ruining his race after he spun, causing him to get stuck in traffic as he was called to the pits at lap 22.

“I’ll hang in there, but you know you’ve messed up”. This is how Vettel concluded a radio message at the end of lap 30 and after the race he delved into the matter.

“We spoke this morning that there's no point pitting, knowing that we will run into traffic, and that's exactly what we did” he said.

"We went also on a hard tyre, which we then only had on for roughly 10 laps, probably not even that. So it didn't make any sense.

"I mean, why would you put the hard for 10 laps and then put the medium for 20 laps? I was running out of tyres towards the end. So we spoke about exactly that. I guess not the best work we could have done today."

Perhaps Ferrari was pulling an early 2019, when the team was deliberately avoiding any close on-track fights between Vettel and Leclerc throughout the first races of the season. If Ferrari had extended Vettel's stint instead of pitting at lap 22, a team order between the two Prancing Horse drivers would have been necessary as Leclerc was right behind. Given that Vettel is going through an emotional roller-coaster and appears fed up with the team, Ferrari might have thought he was not going to respect the team order, causing further drama.

Over the past few years, the German has stood out on numerous occasions for making the right calls and often disagreeing with the pit wall. However, this time was different as it was evident that something was brewing backstage. And his silence in the post-race team radio speaks volumes.