Driver Ratings: 70th Anniversary Grand Prix

It started on an airfield in the East Midlands in 1950. Last weekend saw Formula 1 commemorate 70 years of racing at the circuit where it all began: Silverstone.

In these strangest of times, one of the best motorsport venues in the world hosted back-to-back races, but there was nothing repetitive about the result.

Higher temperatures and softer tyres were the difference this time out, with some teams and drivers thriving and others finding it all too hot to handle.

As the pinnacle of motorsport sang Happy Birthday to itself, who was having their cake and eating it and who left without a gift bag?

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton - 2nd

Having won the opening four races of the season and locked out the front row of the grid on Saturday, Mercedes surely had this grand prix in the bag. Right? Wrong.

It seems the Silver Arrows do have a kryptonite after all: heat. With the scorching British summer in full swing, both Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were unable to get the best out of their machinery, with their tyres wearing out far more rapidly than the rest of the grid.

Hamilton did all he could, initially adopting a bold one-stop strategy to jump Bottas and Max Verstappen. But it didn't work, and the Brit was forced to stop again with 10 laps to go. On fresher tyres, he made easy work of Charles Leclerc and Bottas, to move into second and claim the Fastest Lap Bonus Point, but the Red Bull was out of his reach.

7/10

Valtteri Bottas - 3rd

After beating his teammate to pole and leading in the early stages, Bottas can feel a little hard done by his team to finish behind Hamilton.

The Finn's strategy to try and match Verstappen back-fired and he now finds himself behind the Dutchman in the standings.

On a positive note, he did sign a new contract to remain with Mercedes for 2021. Maybe next year will be his year.

7/10

Red Bull

Max Verstappen - 1st

At last a non-Mercedes driver wins in 2020. As F1 reflected on its past, Verstappen was leading the way into its future. In the early stages, he kept his Red Bull in touching distance of Hamilton, despite warnings from the team that he was pushing his tyres too hard. His response, priceless:

"I'm not going to sit behind like a Grandma!"

He took control of the race, staying out longer than the Mercedes duo, before easing past Bottas once he pitted, despite a slow stop. After that he remained calm and collected, as his rivals struggled to cope. One of the young star's best drives to date and a new catchphrase to boot.

10/10

Alex Albon - 5th

Albon had already been feeling the heat for a few weeks, due to his sub-par performances this season. But he silenced the critics on Sunday with a superb drive.

After starting ninth, he stopped earlier than anyone else, deploying an extremely aggressive strategy. This allowed him to power past the rest of the field, pulling off some scintillating overtakes on Pierre Gasly and Lando Norris, before securing fifth place from Lance Stroll with just a handful of laps to go.

9/10

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc - 4th

Leclerc had an uneventful but still excellent Grand Prix. He quickly made his way up to fourth from eighth and stayed there, much like he did last weekend.

Fourth in the race and now fourth in the championship, which isn't bad considering how tricky his car is.

8/10

Sebastian Vettel -12th

The same cannot be said for Vettel who finished out of the points, around 45 seconds off his teammate.

After starting P11, Vettel spun off of his own accord at the first corner, very nearly taking out several other drivers and causing a very serious accident.

He never recovered, and it seems the German is just counting the days until he leaves Ferrari, who no longer seem interested in helping the four-time world champion.

4/10

McLaren

Lando Norris - 9th

A poor weekend for the British team, who have slipped behind Ferrari in the standings. Norris started tenth but barely improved, with his car just not quick enough to challenge the frontrunners.

6/10

Carlos Sainz Jr. - 13th

It was even worse for Sainz who was let down by a painfully slow pit-stop to finish well outside the points. After such a fast start to the season, McLaren are in real danger of falling behind.

5/10

Racing Point

Lance Stroll - 6th

Racing Point were the talk of the grid at Silverstone, but not for a good reason. The FIA ruled that the the team had illegally copied Mercedes' brake ducts and subsequently fined the team £361,000 and docked them 15 points.

Team owner Lawrence Stroll has firmly denied any wrong doing and will be challenging the ruling, meanwhile Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and Williams have lodged their own appeal, as they believe the punishment is not severe enough.

On the track, Stroll junior had a solid weekend, starting and finishing in sixth place.

7/10

Nico Hulkenberg - 7th

With Sergio Perez still unavailable after contracting Covid-19, Hulkenberg was back and this time actually made it to the grid. And just as well, as the German qualified an outstanding third and was running in fifth going into the closing stages.

Unfortunately he was forced to pit again after reporting a potential problem with his tyres. It dropped him to seventh but this Grand Prix has certainly boosted his deflated reputation.

Had Racing Point not been deducted those points however, the Pink Panthers would be third in standings.

7/10

Renault

Esteban Ocon - 8th

Having initially qualified P11, Ocon was handed a three-place grid penalty for impeding George Russell in Q1.

Undeterred, the Frenchman quietly got on with his race to score enough points to move him into 10th in the driver's championship.

7/10

Daniel Ricciardo - 14th

Remarkably, Ricciardo started fifth on the grid and ought to have finished in the points.

Bizarrely, the Aussie 'pulled a Vettel' and spun off on his own during a battle with Sainz, Vettel, Daniil Kvyat and Ocon. He never recovered and finished well behind his teammate. Disappointing.

4/10

AlphaTauri

Daniil Kvyat - 10th

After qualifying P16, Kvyat looked set for a dull and rather pointless Sunday drive. But after a decent start, the Russian managed his tyres well to take an unexpected point. After his heavy shunt last weekend, this was a very good result indeed.

7/10

Pierre Gasly - 11th

Conversely, Gasly qualified seventh but had a poor race, finishing just outside the points in P11. With Albon back to his best, he may have to wait a little longer to get back into the the Red Bull first team.

5/10

Alfa Romeo

Kimi Raikkonen - 15th

At the inaugural British Grand Prix in 1950, Alfa Romeo finished first, second AND third. 70 years on and a lot has changed, with both Alfas lining up on the back row of the grid.

Raikkonen did make up five places, which is commendable, but a top-ten finish looks unattainable.

4/10

Antonio Giovinazzi - 17th

After an OK start, Giovinazzi trundled round out the back. Not a lot else to report.

2/10

Haas

Romain Grosjean - 16th

P16 was all Grosjean could muster. He did qualify well, escaping Q1 to start a decent P13.

3/10

Kevin Magnussen - DNF

Magnussen had the most eventful race of all the back markers, but that's not a good thing. After running wide at Stowe, the Dane violently moved back onto the track, nearly wiping out Nicholas Latifi in the process.

He rightly received a five-second time penalty for his actions, before retiring from the race with just six laps to go.

1/10