2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Silverstone‘s second race in a week brought a different winner and a different kind of drama. Max Verstappen mastered the tyre challenge at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to end Mercedes‘ winning start to 2020, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas left to chase the Red Bull Racing driver home.

Race Guide

Season: 2020 F1 World Championship
Race date: 9 August 2020
Race start time: 14:10 local time (UTC+01:00)
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit
Laps: 52 laps
Circuit length: 5.891 km
Previous winner: None — inaugural Grand Prix

Pole position
Driver	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes
Time	1:25.154
Fastest lap
Driver	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Time	1:28.451 on lap 43
Podium
First	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing
Second	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes
Third	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
7 August 2020	Practice 1	11:00 – 12:30
7 August 2020	Practice 2	15:00 – 16:30
8 August 2020	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
8 August 2020	Qualifying	14:00 – 15:00
9 August 2020	Race	14:10

All times are local (UTC+01:00). The race time is the scheduled start.

Championship background

The event celebrated 70 years since the first World Championship race, held at Silverstone in 1950. Hamilton led Bottas by 30 points after the British Grand Prix, but the tyre failures at that race gave every team plenty to consider. Racing Point also arrived under scrutiny: a ruling on its rear brake ducts brought a 15-point constructors’ deduction relating to the Styrian Grand Prix, while its drivers kept their points.

Race entries

Nico Hülkenberg continued in place of Sergio Perez at Racing Point after Perez again tested positive for COVID-19. Robert Kubica drove Antonio Giovinazzi‘s Alfa Romeo Racing in FP1. The other race seats were unchanged.

Free Practice

Valtteri Bottas led FP1 with a 1:26.166, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. The opening session gave teams a chance to evaluate the softer tyre range being used for the second Silverstone weekend.

Hamilton moved ahead in FP2 with a 1:25.606, beating Bottas by 0.176s. Daniel Ricciardo was third for Renault, while late engine problems for Sebastian Vettel and Antonio Giovinazzi disrupted the end of the session.

Hamilton remained quickest in FP3 on a 1:26.621, with Bottas second and Lando Norris third. Mercedes again looked formidable over a single lap, although Sunday would place very different demands on the tyres.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix FP1, 7 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:26.166	21
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	+0.138s	23
3	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.727s	24
4	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	+0.776s	25
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.896s	20
6	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.114s	22
7	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.332s	21
8	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+1.373s	26
9	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.487s	27
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.535s	23
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.541s	23
12	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.680s	26
13	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.742s	26
14	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.972s	28
15	63	George Russell	Williams	+2.004s	24
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.060s	24
17	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+2.345s	23
18	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.489s	24
19	88	Robert Kubica	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.794s	22
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+3.153s	17

Free Practice 2 Classification

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix FP2, 7 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:25.606	22
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.176s	22
3	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+0.815s	29
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.831s	15
5	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.895s	24
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	+1.140s	26
7	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+1.206s	32
8	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+1.261s	26
9	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.312s	24
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+1.322s	25
11	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+1.354s	25
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.396s	33
13	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.522s	31
14	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.592s	30
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.688s	28
16	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.714s	31
17	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.929s	30
18	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+1.976s	28
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+2.077s	32
20	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+2.349s	26

Free Practice 3 Classification

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix FP3, 8 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.621	15
2	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	+0.163s	16
3	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	+0.581s	20
4	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	+0.635s	16
5	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	+0.642s	15
6	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	+0.707s	18
7	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	+0.834s	12
8	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	+0.853s	15
9	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	+0.875s	15
10	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	+1.006s	22
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	+1.038s	15
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	+1.133s	18
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	+1.190s	20
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	+1.194s	12
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	+1.455s	15
16	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	+1.504s	14
17	63	George Russell	Williams	+1.728s	17
18	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.847s	13
19	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	+1.917s	12
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	+2.142s	16

Qualifying

Valtteri Bottas took pole with a 1:25.154, just 0.063s ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Nico Hülkenberg produced an outstanding lap for third, putting Racing Point ahead of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo.

Verstappen’s decision to progress through Q2 on hard tyres gave him a different starting strategy from the other leading cars. Esteban Ocon received a three-place penalty for impeding George Russell, while Sebastian Vettel again missed Q3 and faced a recovery race.

Qualifying Classification

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Qualifying, 8 August 2020

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:26.738	1:25.785	1:25.154	20
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:26.818	1:26.266	1:25.217	20
3	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	1:27.279	1:26.261	1:26.082	18
4	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:27.154	1:26.779	1:26.176	12
5	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	1:27.442	1:26.636	1:26.297	14
6	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1:27.187	1:26.674	1:26.428	18
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:27.154	1:26.523	1:26.534	18
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:27.427	1:26.709	1:26.614	16
9	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	1:27.153	1:26.642	1:26.669	18
10	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:27.217	1:26.885	1:26.778	18
11	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	1:27.278	1:27.011	—	12
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:27.612	1:27.078	—	14
13	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1:27.450	1:27.083	—	12
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:27.519	1:27.254	—	16
15	63	George Russell	Williams	1:27.757	1:27.455	—	11
16	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	1:27.882	—	—	6
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:28.236	—	—	9
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1:28.430	—	—	6
19	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:28.433	—	—	6
20	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	1:28.493	—	—	6

Esteban Ocon received a three-place grid penalty for impeding George Russell during qualifying.

What happened in the 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix?

Max Verstappen won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix through pace and tyre management, defeating both Mercedes cars. Hamilton recovered to second with the fastest lap, while polesitter Bottas finished third after a frustrating afternoon.

Bottas led Hamilton away, but Verstappen quickly passed Hülkenberg for third. Vettel spun at the first corner and dropped to the back. At the front, Verstappen stayed close enough to keep pressure on the Mercedes pair while running the harder starting compound.

The decisive difference soon became visible: Mercedes struggled with blistering, while Verstappen was able to extend his first stint. Bottas and Hamilton stopped earlier, yet the Red Bull Racing car continued to lap strongly on its older tyres. That gave Verstappen both track position and strategic freedom.

When Verstappen finally stopped, he emerged just behind Bottas and immediately attacked. He reclaimed the lead through the Brooklands–Luffield section and began to pull away. Red Bull Racing could then cover Mercedes‘ next move without surrendering control of the race.

Hamilton stayed out longer before his second stop and returned to the track behind Charles Leclerc. Fresh tyres gave him the pace to pass the Ferrari and close on Bottas, whom he overtook late on to take second. Verstappen was already too far ahead to catch.

Leclerc made a one-stop strategy work to finish fourth. Alexander Albon recovered to fifth with a series of overtakes, while Lance Stroll was sixth. Hülkenberg finished seventh after a late stop prompted by vibrations, finally reaching the finish after his non-start a week earlier.

Ocon took eighth, followed by Norris and Daniil Kvyat. Ricciardo’s afternoon was compromised by a spin, leaving him outside the points. Verstappen’s first win of the year moved him into second in the championship, 30 points behind Hamilton, and showed that Mercedes could be beaten on race day.

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix race results

The 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix was held on 9 August 2020, with a scheduled start of 14:10 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	52	1:19:41.993	25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	52	+11.326s	19
3	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	52	+19.231s	15
4	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	52	+29.289s	12
5	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	52	+39.146s	10
6	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	52	+42.538s	8
7	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	52	+55.951s	6
8	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	52	+64.773s	4
9	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	52	+65.544s	2
10	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	52	+69.669s	1
11	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	+70.642s	0
12	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	52	+73.370s	0
13	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	52	+74.070s	0
14	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	51	+1 lap	0
15	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
16	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	51	+1 lap	0
17	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	51	+1 lap	0
18	63	George Russell	Williams	51	+1 lap	0
19	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	51	+1 lap	0
Ret	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	43	Tyre shortage	0

Lewis Hamilton earned the additional point for fastest lap.

Kevin Magnussen received a five-second time penalty for leaving the track and rejoining unsafely, but it was unapplied as he retired from the race.

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time of Day	Time	Avg. Speed
1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	43	15:19:41	1:28.451	239.766
2	33	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	46	15:24:00	1:29.465	237.049
3	23	Alexander Albon	Red Bull Racing	46	15:24:35	1:29.477	237.017
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	44	15:21:05	1:29.765	236.256
5	6	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	48	15:28:58	1:29.950	235.770
6	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Racing Point	52	15:33:55	1:30.087	235.412
7	10	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	52	15:34:09	1:30.092	235.399
8	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	39	15:13:35	1:30.552	234.203
9	55	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	49	15:29:40	1:30.556	234.193
10	31	Esteban Ocon	Renault	50	15:31:00	1:30.575	234.144
11	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	49	15:29:31	1:30.698	233.826
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	AlphaTauri	52	15:34:08	1:30.738	233.723
13	5	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	49	15:29:39	1:30.785	233.602
14	8	Romain Grosjean	Haas	51	15:33:24	1:30.793	233.581
15	18	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	45	15:23:00	1:30.877	233.365
16	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Renault	39	15:14:41	1:31.168	232.621
17	63	George Russell	Williams	50	15:31:58	1:31.408	232.010
18	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Alfa Romeo Racing	30	15:00:49	1:31.756	231.130
19	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo Racing	37	15:11:52	1:31.826	230.954
20	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	39	15:15:15	1:31.830	230.944

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear in this table. Time of Day is local time; average speeds are in km/h.

2020 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings for drivers and teams after the 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

2020 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Mercedes	107
2	Max Verstappen	NED	Red Bull Racing	77
3	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes	73
4	Charles Leclerc	MON	Ferrari	45
5	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren	38
6	Alexander Albon	THA	Red Bull Racing	36
7	Lance Stroll	CAN	Racing Point	28
8	Sergio Perez	MEX	Racing Point	22
9	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault	20
10	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault	16
11	Carlos Sainz	ESP	McLaren	15
12	Pierre Gasly	FRA	AlphaTauri	12
13	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Ferrari	10
14	Nico Hulkenberg	GER	Racing Point	6
15	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
16	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	AlphaTauri	2
17	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas	1
18	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	0
19	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams	0
20	George Russell	GBR	Williams	0
21	Romain Grosjean	FRA	Haas	0

2020 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Mercedes	180
2	Red Bull Racing	113
3	Ferrari	55
4	McLaren	53
5	Racing Point	41
6	Renault	36
7	AlphaTauri	14
8	Alfa Romeo Racing	2
9	Haas	1
10	Williams	0

Racing Point’s constructors’ total includes the 15-point deduction imposed over its rear brake ducts. The drivers’ points were unaffected.