Mercedes were almost a full second clear of the field in Hungary – only Lance Stroll’s Racing Point prevented them putting at least 60 seconds on every car on the grid.
At Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton’s pole position lap left the opposition a second in arrears.
There’s no sugar-coating these statistics. Being this far ahead of the competition does not bode well for the standard of competition in the season ahead. Just as the 2016-16 championships were contested exclusively by Mercedes’ drivers, the season looks set to deliver more of the same, albeit with Valtteri Bottas now in the position formerly occupied by Nico Rosberg.
This will put a renewed focus on how Mercedes operate their cars’ strategies. How far may their drivers go to get a tactical advantage over the other guy?
The two Mercedes occupied the front row of the grid 12 months ago, but that time Bottas was ahead. Hamilton’s early attempt to pass him was repelled, but when Bottas pitted Hamilton stayed out longer in an attempt to gain the strategic upper hand. As things turned out, the Safety Car made an appearance, and Hamilton was able to secure his lead in the pits.
While Mercedes are unwilling to let their drivers pursue radically different strategies, this avenue is open to Bottas, assuming he holds second behind his team mate at the start.
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Giving their drivers greater strategic freedom isn’t an option because teams only have one pit box each, rather than one per driver, according to Mercedes’ trackside operations director Andrew Shovlin.
“The way that we run a race is you prioritise the guy who’s leading and you optimise his race, and then once he’s done a stop, we can then optimise the guy behind.
“You can’t run them like we would if we’re racing Ferrari or Red Bull because we’ve only got one pit stop crew and one box. So every team has to have some sort of mechanism for doing that.”
However unlike by the Hungaroring, where races tend to be ‘follow my leader’ affairs, Silverstone offers possibilities for a driver in Bottas’s position, says Shovlin.
“It makes our life more difficult on the pit wall because we do need to let them race and we do need to let them create some entertainment. They’re both closely matched on pace, they’re closely matched in the championship. And it’s that sort of period of the year where there is some tension there because they both know that there’s an awful lot to play for.”
Those hoping for an eventful fight for the lead will be wishing that comes true. The weather forecast is for a Mercedes-friendly 20C day with little chance of rain. The contest behind the two black cars is therefore where we’re likely to see the best action.
Max Verstappen may have an uneventful run to third place ahead of him, the Red Bull being too slow to catch the Mercedes and too quick for those behind to be a realistic threat. But his team mate Alexander Albon, who failed to make the cut for Q3, will again have to demonstrate his overtaking skill to recover the solid top five finish Red Bull surely expect.
Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris was the stars of qualifying, the former especially, whose “radical” Ferrari set-up appears to have delivered in terms of one-lap performance. He is very concerned about his race pace, and relieved to have got into Q3 using the medium compound tyre. Starting on that harder rubber should give him the advantage he needs to lead Norris home. Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, has had a horrible weekend, with endless problems in practice contributing to a poor qualifying result.
The performance of the Racing Points in qualifying was something of a puzzle. Nico Hulkenberg was always going to find it hard going to get into Q3 on his short-notice return. But Lance Stroll, who did make the cut, was mystified at his lack of pace in the final stage of qualifying.
Will the pink cars be able to cut through the midfield as effectively as they did at the Red Bull Ring a few weeks ago? They’re likely to have a more eventful race than the two similar-looking black cars ahead of them.
Sector times
| Driver | Sector 1 | Sector 2 | Sector 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | 27.227 (1) | 33.896 (2) | 23.071 (1) |
| Valtteri Bottas | 34.175 (20) | 23.211 (1) | |
| Max Verstappen | 27.321 (2) | 34.404 (3) | 23.600 (9) |
| Charles Leclerc | 27.410 (3) | 34.441 (4) | 23.576 (7) |
| Lando Norris | 27.569 (5) | 34.675 (6) | 23.538 (3) |
| Lance Stroll | 27.623 (7) | 34.575 (5) | 23.498 (2) |
| Carlos Sainz Jnr | 27.663 (9) | 34.683 (7) | 23.564 (5) |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 27.597 (6) | 34.865 (13) | 23.547 (4) |
| Esteban Ocon | 27.644 (8) | 34.824 (11) | 23.659 (10) |
| Sebastian Vettel | 27.474 (4) | 34.696 (8) | 23.809 (13) |
| Pierre Gasly | 27.900 (12) | 34.853 (12) | 23.590 (8) |
| Alexander Albon | 27.718 (10) | 34.781 (10) | 23.829 (14) |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 27.794 (11) | 34.761 (9) | 23.564 (5) |
| Kevin Magnussen | 28.030 (17) | 35.117 (17) | 23.956 (17) |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 27.979 (15) | 35.144 (18) | 23.908 (15) |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 28.172 (19) | 35.006 (15) | 24.127 (19) |
| Romain Grosjean | 28.003 (16) | 35.152 (19) | 23.919 (16) |
| Nicholas Latifi | 28.146 (18) | 35.238 (20) | 24.097 (18) |
| Daniil Kvyat | 27.942 (14) | 34.941 (14) | 23.692 (11) |
| George Russell | 27.901 (13) | 35.065 (16) | 23.730 (12) |
Speed trap
| Pos | Driver | Car | Engine | Speed (kph/mph) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 319.8 (198.7) | |
| 2 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | Renault | 319.1 (198.3) | -0.7 |
| 3 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | Renault | 319.1 (198.3) | -0.7 |
| 4 | Nico Hulkenberg | Racing Point | Mercedes | 318.4 (197.8) | -1.4 |
| 5 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Honda | 318.3 (197.8) | -1.5 |
| 6 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 318.3 (197.8) | -1.5 |
| 7 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point | Mercedes | 317.8 (197.5) | -2.0 |
| 8 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | Ferrari | 317.5 (197.3) | -2.3 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | Honda | 317.4 (197.2) | -2.4 |
| 10 | George Russell | Williams | Mercedes | 317.0 (197.0) | -2.8 |
| 11 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | Honda | 316.9 (196.9) | -2.9 |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 316.7 (196.8) | -3.1 |
| 13 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 316.3 (196.5) | -3.5 |
| 14 | Lando Norris | McLaren | Renault | 315.5 (196.0) | -4.3 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | McLaren | Renault | 315.4 (196.0) | -4.4 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 313.9 (195.0) | -5.9 |
| 17 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull | Honda | 313.4 (194.7) | -6.4 |
| 18 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 313.2 (194.6) | -6.6 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | Mercedes | 313.0 (194.5) | -6.8 |
| 20 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari | 312.9 (194.4) | -6.9 |
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Over to you
Is today’s race going to be an all-Mercedes battle – or do you see a big surprise coming? And what’s caught your eye among the midfielders?
Share your views on the British Grand Prix in the comments.
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2020 British Grand Prix
- Racing Point given 15-point deduction and fined £360,000 as stewards uphold Renault protest
- Missed chance to avoid Hamilton’s puncture “a mistake that could have cost us dearly”
- 2020 British Grand Prix Star Performers
- Silverstone restoring Becketts kerb to previous specification following tyre cuts
- Pirelli investigation reveals ‘highest forces ever’ contributed to Silverstone punctures
t3x
2nd August 2020, 8:38
Do you guys remember when the FIA were always trying to clip Redbull’s wings when they were dominating the sport, is there anything being done to do the same to Mercedes?
No offence to Bottas but this will be Hamilton’s 7th title this year and 8th the next, if you are a betting man, easy money to be made, it’s unfotunate for the sport…
Deane
2nd August 2020, 9:07
Then go bet 20K.
DonSalsa
2nd August 2020, 9:52
@t3x. There was a big chassis and aero regulation change in 2017 and the front wing change last year. On both occasions, a lot people thought another team would emerge with a better package; Ferrari came close and in fact in the first halves of 2017 and 2018, Ferrari had better and faster cars!
Also, the Mercs had the FRIC suspension system, which was banned!
And why do you say LH winning the WDCs this year and/or next is an unfortunate? If you are referring to competition, then well, it’s not the Mercs fault that both RBR and Ferrari have actually built 2020 cars that are slower than their 2019 cars!!!
Go figure…
MacLeod (@macleod)
2nd August 2020, 9:53
changin or limiting aero is simple but engines not possible (locked in contracts)
Blazzz (@blazzz)
2nd August 2020, 11:04
@t3x
But the thing is Red Bull always went above (and sometimes beyond) the limit- flexi wings, double diffusers, rake angles etc. Merc haven’t gone as far as Red Bull has apart from DAS imo- which coincidentally has now been banned. People even thought the oil burning saga would impact Merc more than the others- it hasn’t and if anything Ferrari fell back. And the rule changes from 2017 onwards were meant to even the field by trying to focus more on aero and taking the advantage away from the engine- which it did somewhat- but even then Merc still has the best chassis. Red Bull have even dropped their “best chassis” propaganda while blaming the engine. So to say the FIA haven’t tried to clip Merc’s wings isn’t accurate. The reality is Merc’s car is legal and they have simply done the best job in this hybrid era.
KaIIe (@kaiie)
2nd August 2020, 8:46
I find it rather unlikely for Bottas to beat Hamilton, as the latter is simply slightly faster. As Mercedes do not allow the second driver to pit first, that most likely means that Bottas might run long; allowing Hamilton to increase his lead with fresh tyres, if he pits first. And thus, a gap of, say, 4 seconds in the first stint, can be up to 10 seconds or so. And claiming that back and keeping enough life in the tyres to launch an attack on your teammate will be impossible, if you are slightly slower anyway.
Something really weird needs to happen for Hamilton to lose this race. Even if Bottas manages to get ahead at the start or if there is a well-timed safety car, I think Lewis still has enough speed to overtake his teammate.
DAllein (@)
2nd August 2020, 9:05
Look, this year they don’t suffer from the temperature.
FP1-FP2 – they didn’t need to setup the car for a hot race, it was already in “cool-race” pre-setup.
If next race is Silverstone, as forecasted, is much warmer, don’t expect their superiority to evaporate.
Initially
2nd August 2020, 9:09
Internal tension.. struggling to not laugh….
knightameer (@knightameer)
2nd August 2020, 9:15
It’s hard not to laugh. I mean, tension? What tension? Hamilton will be 1st. Bottas second.
erikje
2nd August 2020, 9:42
And knowing that before the race is the “tension”.
Alex
2nd August 2020, 10:25
Bottas usually rolls over to get his tummy tickled as he’s lining up on the starting grid
abananasplitz
2nd August 2020, 12:44
battery voltas confirmed beta-male.
thegamer23
2nd August 2020, 9:13
What tension?
Bottas is nowhere.
abananasplitz
2nd August 2020, 12:43
+1
Jere (@jerejj)
2nd August 2020, 9:56
Is today’s race going to be an all-Mercedes battle – or do you see a big surprise coming? – Yes to the first part.
And what’s caught your eye among the midfielders? – Nothing.
Chaitanya
2nd August 2020, 10:24
Mercs dont have to worry about race start either since cars on row 3 are on softs and they are going to be a headache for cars on row 2 at start which means both mercs can open up gap behind them.
Alex
2nd August 2020, 10:34
Yeah this’ll be a walk in the park today for Mercedes – Hamilton first and Bottas dithering about 30 seconds behind in second.
I did enjoy qualifying but I think I’ll give the race a miss.
Chaitanya
2nd August 2020, 11:00
with the help of DAS Mercs won’t have issues warming up medium tyres while 2 cars behind on mediums are a non issue unfortunately. Else atleast the start of the race would have been fun. Also next weekend can be written off as yesterday Bottas on mediums(next weekend’s hard) had a gap in hand in Q2 that Mercs can use have another boring weekend on hand.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
2nd August 2020, 10:35
Of all the things I have witnessed in 18 years watching Formula 1, this is the most unimaginable and unparalleled struggle. Hats off to Mercedes for managing their drivers while having to fend off another 18 cars which are, year by year, still closer and closer and only by the virtue and incompetence, Mercedes can bring the cars home in top 2.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
2nd August 2020, 10:36
*by the virtue of their incompetence
Tor
2nd August 2020, 10:55
Still stunned that previous decade’s ridiculous dominance would be surpassed unchecked.
It’s bizarre that all the effort and talk about making F1 exciting, and then we have this.
Pironi the Provocateur (@pironitheprovocateur)
2nd August 2020, 11:42
Manufacturers were given too much power and the F1 has become a field for their technical exhibition. It won’t be competitive again until they get royally smacked out of the sport.
Blazzz (@blazzz)
2nd August 2020, 10:58
Well Mercedes have one chief strategist- James Vowles- and his objective is to secure the 1-2 in whatever order. Typically the guy in front gets an advantage so there won’t be any jostling for strategic position.
erikje
2nd August 2020, 12:40
“The guy in front”, only if his name is Lewis.
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
2nd August 2020, 10:58
I hope Bottas won’t draw the short straw in the strategic battle as obvious as last year, when he was on a 2-stop strategy, while in reality Hamilton’s 1-stop strategy was far superior.
This year however, if Hamilton maintains the lead, he will probably manage the tires a lot initially, then gradually pull away from Bottas and wait for Bottas to change tires before he pits too. That would be a boring lights-to-flag victory.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
2nd August 2020, 12:11
Horrible feeling this race is going to be unimaginably dull. The two Mercedes will skip off and be about 10 seconds ahead of third place after 10 laps and then go into cruise control. The midfield might be a little more exciting but I’d be stunned if the top three weren’t exactly as they qualified.
abananasplitz
2nd August 2020, 12:39
watch the race director focus on the 2 mercedes and ignore the midfield action as usual…
abananasplitz
2nd August 2020, 12:41
maybe lando can pull some magic out of his behind again in order to atleast make a few minutes of the end entertining. (if the race director has smarts enough to show it this time.)
Pinak Ghosh (@pinakghosh)
2nd August 2020, 12:25
“Valtteri, its James,”
And all will be well
The Edge (@the-edge)
2nd August 2020, 13:09
If you only watchEd sport because of the winner then there double be a billion upset fans every day of the year
F1 has never been so competitive – that is, if you take Merc out of the mix. But then it’s nearly always been a sport dominated by 1, mostly like every other sport I can think of
Despite Merc likely winning there will be great action and great battles all the way up and down the grid which will provide plenty of action – just like in football where only Liverpool really one this year, despite the 100s of other teams taking part, many with no chance at all of clinching the premier league title because they’re not even in it
Jim Sharpe (@jms90h5)
2nd August 2020, 14:59
+1
Karthik M
2nd August 2020, 13:16
I don’t understand the general hatred Mercedes gets in the comments section. Calls for Mercedes to be banned to make racing more exciting is laughable.
Comparisons to periods of dominance from Ferrari and Red Bull are not fair. Ferrari had a huge budget and they had unlimited testing and bespoke tyres, and no other team had this privilege. And ferrari did have brief moments of challenge, but they still prevailed and it isn’t ferrari’s fault. Similarly Redbull had a few aerodynamic tricks to make their cars faster and they were often in the grey areas of the technical regulations.
Mercedes started later than any other big team. They existed as a team only in 2010. 2014 was an opportunity for everyone and Mercedes just did a better job than the others. If one claims that these rules were specifically tailored to suit Mercedes, then clearly facts aren’t part of the conversation!
2014 and 2016 were championships that went to the last race. It was full of drama. I don’t know why a championship fought by teammates is less exciting than a championship fought by two drivers from different teams. One could argue that 2017, 2018 and 2019 would have been closer if there was a different driver in the ferrari. Again, not Mercedes’ fault. Mercedes just did a good job from the beginning, and the others are playing catch up.
If you are a fan of sport, then watching Lewis break records, should be entertaining. If you don’t like Lewis and can’t stand him winning races, then you should not hide behind the “sport is boring” curtain.
Wanting the FIA to stop Mercedes when Mercedes has not done anything wrong, how can anyone justify it? I simply don’t understand the logic.
Bio
2nd August 2020, 15:18
The heck are you talking about? Everyone had unlimited testing back in the day, not jus Ferrari and Michelin built specific tyres for every top team they were running. At least check your facts before spreading bs…