Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

F1 2020: Verstappen on shock Silverstone win: I didn't see it coming!

F1: A thrilling win at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix was not the outcome race winner Max Verstappen expected.

By Chris Myson
Verstappen - Cropped

Silverstone, Aug 9: Max Verstappen admitted he was taken by surprise when a chance emerged for him to win the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.

F1 2020: Verstappen wins 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to end Mercedes run</a> | <a class=Red Bull boosted in title bid after 'easy' Verstappen victory" title="F1 2020: Verstappen wins 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to end Mercedes run | Red Bull boosted in title bid after 'easy' Verstappen victory" />F1 2020: Verstappen wins 70th Anniversary Grand Prix to end Mercedes run | Red Bull boosted in title bid after 'easy' Verstappen victory

Mercedes won the first four races of the 2020 Formula One season and looked poised to continue that dominance when they locked out the front row for Sunday's race.

However, Verstappen produced a brilliant drive to triumph from fourth on the grid, Red Bull's decision to start on the hard tyre and Mercedes' struggles in hot conditions helping him to secure a ninth career win.

The Dutchman ended up 11 seconds clear at the front as Lewis Hamilton passed Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas for second place late on, and the Red Bull star was shocked by how the race unfolded.

"I didn't see it coming, but after the first stint it seemed like we were really good on tyres," said Verstappen, who moved above Bottas into second place in the drivers' standings.

"Of course then it was a question mark on how Mercedes were gonna go on the hard tyre. We had a lot of pace in the car and I didn't really have a lot of tyre issues at all. We just kept pushing.

"An incredible result of course to win here, we just had a great day - everything worked out well and we had the right strategy.

"Everything was running smoothly and I'm incredibly happy to win."

In an entertaining radio message while he was third early in the race, Verstappen refused an instruction to sit back and preserve tyres "like grandma", instead opting to put pressure on the front two.

He continued: "We haven't really had an opportunity in all the races so far to push them and I could see we were pushing them.

"So I tried to put the pressure on, they had to pit, from there on I did my own pace and built that advantage until the end."

Asked if the Red Bull car was now a Mercedes-beater, Verstappen said: "I don't know, we need to use soft tyres as they suit our car most.

"We will see again in Barcelona, for now we are just very happy that we won."

Story first published: Sunday, August 9, 2020, 21:38 [IST]
Other articles published on Aug 9, 2020