Start, Silverstone, 2020

Rate the race: 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix

2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix

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What did you think of today’s race? Share your verdict on the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

RaceFans has held polls on every F1 race since 2008 to find out which fans thought of each round of the season.

Join in the latest poll and give your verdict on the race: 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Please vote based on how entertaining and exciting you thought the race was, not on how your preferred driver or team performed.

What were the best and worst moments of the race? What was the main thing you’ll remember about it? Rate the race out of ten and leave a comment below:

Rate the 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix out of 10

  • 10 (3%)
  • 9 (10%)
  • 8 (32%)
  • 7 (25%)
  • 6 (14%)
  • 5 (5%)
  • 4 (3%)
  • 3 (1%)
  • 2 (0%)
  • 1 (7%)

Total Voters: 239

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1 = ‘Terrible’, 10 = ‘Perfect’

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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59 comments on “Rate the race: 2020 70th Anniversary Grand Prix”

  1. 7
    The random race of tyre management.

    But hats off to RBR and Max – they made it work, and they knew they could.
    Mercedes couldn’t and didn’t understand what was happening and lost.

  2. A positively exciting race, although the number of pit stops partly contributed to that.

  3. 8. Much improved from last weeks borefest. Fantastic job by Max and RB. Needed Hulk’s elusive podium for a higher mark. But I enjoyed that!

    1. An 8 for me as well.
      And interestingly many here were expecting a ‘borefest’ today.

  4. Fantastic! Who knew being a second a lap faster could be to your detriment! Flawless by Max. Leclerc starting to look like Fernando dragging that Ferrari to where it simply shouldn’t be. Feel a bit bad for Renault after such a good qualifying.

    1. is the 2020 Ferrari really that bad or is it Vettel’s performances that make it look worse than it actually is? Who knows if even Leclerc is extracting the most out of it? It’s very hard to tell what’s the pute speed of a car when only one driver is always setting the benchmarks.

      For example, if there was no Max Verstappen, and Albon had Gasly as teammate (neither of them fully capable of extracting the most out of the car), I’m sure people would say that RedBull is even worse than Ferrari.

      1. It’s hard to make an argument that Vettel is a bad driver. He has won 4 titles after all. If the car was good, he’d be doing much better than he is. He hasn’t forgotten how to drive as Martin Brundle says. Sure he’s made mistakes in the last few years but I don’t remember him ever being this outright slow compared to his teammate. That tells me Leclerc must be doing bloody well.

        I agree regarding Max. He’s phenomenal. I think he’s well and truly out-performing that car. I wonder where Daniel would be? I suspect better than Albon but probably not on Max’s level.

        1. Something is wrong with the Vettel- Ferrari situation right now, I think it would be better for both parties to “speed up” the drivers’ moves of 2021

  5. 8. Great drives throughout the field, unpredictable to the end and the tyres worked perfectly to make various strategies work.

  6. 6/10. Blatant favouring of Hamilton over Bottas.

      1. The problem is they brought Bottas to pits in the same lap as Max ahead. That is the worst strategy in the world, if you ask me. The RBR pit crew is usually better, the RedBull was clearly kinder to the tires… so how would Bottas be able to get Max with such a strategy? And then it all kind of landed nicely for Lewis, because there were some 10 laps of status quo, with Bottas stuck behind Max who was just pacing himself.

        1. The problem is they brought Bottas to pits in the same lap as Max ahead

          Wrong. Bottas was AHEAD of Max when he came in (last stop). Red Bull merely mirrored Mercedes strategy, and Max followed him in. Max got out ahead and it was a race to the end.

          1. @kbdavies whoops looks like someone wasn’t watching the race.
            Max passed Bottas with fresh tyres after the first stop. He pitted the same lap as Bottas but was about 2 seconds ahead.

          2. @kbdavies did you actually watch the race?

        2. The RB pit crew only had to consider 1 driver.

    1. That’s just typical Wolff in sheep’s clothing.
      At least Ferrari didn’t pretend to claim otherwise in 2000s with their drivers.

      1. Plus, it was a lot of fuss in the community regarding this aspect, with Mercedes it’s complete silence, like it’s just something normal. Weeeeird……

    2. @adamgoh BS. Bottas had strategy preference being ahead, he could have opted to stay out longer than VER, or HAM, instead, both he and HAM have done so from the lead.

  7. loved the strategy today. 8/10, would’ve prefered more racing but it seems silverstone is suddenly much harder to overtake compared to last year

  8. 7. a far better race, still with some of f1’s blisters hurting the show. DRS, team orders. tyre centric but the same for everyone, hopefully, Lewis is rightfully suspicious but that is f1.

  9. 8/10, not bad, I feel like next week in Spain will be similar because of temperature.

    Poor Hulk, he’s cursed for sure, why did RP pit him for softs? He looked fine.

    1. Because He couldn´t finish ahead of Lance.
      It makes sense for two reasons:
      1. Lance needs points for the championship and it was only a matter of switching places;
      2. The new guy, in the first race, ahead of the son of the team owner? Come on..

    2. Because daddy Stroll called and demanded a swap

  10. Everything is all fun and games to the mercs until that boi Verstappen enters the equation.

    1. Come on! This is 1 race! Should this happen more than 3-4 times in a season then you would have a slight point but that’s really not going to happen.
      1- Merc do not have a problem in the heat. They have a problem in heat combined with altitude and/or tyre pressure increases
      2 – We will be racing in Europe until November = lots of cool races
      3 – Merc are clearly miles ahead of every other team on the grid.
      4 – Every year we see a win or 2 from another team not called Mercedes and suddenly this is the end of the dominance… it never is.
      5 – Merc have Lewis Hamilton driving for them
      Still… hope shines bright!

    2. Who would win
      Two cars 1 second faster in Qualifying
      or
      1 Max boi

  11. Typical tyre management race that f1 fans always complain about will get the high ratings.
    No wonder Pirelli don’t wanna improve.

  12. 6/10 from me as I just do not enjoy these formula tire races.

    I want to see competitive wheel to wheel racing between cars of somewhat similar performance. All these easier passes with DRS & tires of massive performance differences creates numbers for the passing stats but those sort of uncompetitive, easy, gimmicky highway passes simply aren’t satisfying to watch. It would have been mega to see Verstappen fighting for the win by having to actually really work to overtake Bottas in a truly awe inspiring driver skill based overtake. But with formula DRS tire he simply turned up & Bottas had zero to fight back with so it was yet another uncompetitive highway easy pass unfortunately & we simply never got to see any real genuine fighting or battling at the front which was always the biggest problem with the formula tire races.

    My biggest fear from this is that they go back in this direction & we end up with what we had a few years ago where every race features extreme levels of tire management which let us not forget is something everybody complained about at the time which is why they moved back towards harder, more durable tires to begin with.

    1. DRS or not, Max would have been past Bottas before the end of that out lap. Races can be won in different ways, good to see the underdog win every so often.

      1. @tommy-c That was my point. The fact Max was going to pass Bottas was inevitable which took away some of the excitement off seeing a good fight for the win with the prospect of seeing a genuinely exciting overtake at the end of it.

        I enjoy watching actual competitive racing, I want to see good battles, I want to see drivers fighting & having to work hard to earn a genuine overtake. Be it down to DRS & tires that leave people defenceless, I just don’t enjoy that type of racing because it robs us of the things that create actual tension & excitement & replaces it with something that always feels fake and/or unsatisfying.

        It’s quantity over quality aimed at simply creating higher numbers for the stat sheet that robs us of genuine racing.

        I watched the 1993 British Gp in the week & that sort of genuine fight between Senna, Prost & Schumacher was thrilling & way more exciting with way more competitive, genuine & exciting actual overtaking than we saw today. That is what I want to see more of & what fans should be calling for, Not this silly formula DRS/tire thing that robs us of seeing that.

        I just hope that the 2022 cars allow F1 to get rid of the artificial gimmicks, Although I fear Liberty will simply double down on them.

        1. Hard to disagree. The obsession with overtaking for the sake of overtaking detracts from the spectacle of F1. Overtaking should be hard. Imagine Imola 2005 with DRS. Fingers crossed for 2022.

  13. After people predicting a tyre managing borefest, we had a great race in the end! Glad Pirelli brought the softer set of tyres.

  14. Better than the 1000th GP.

  15. 8.

    Refreshing to see some other driver/team win. Great job by VER and RBR. Albon is weak, a stronger driver might have messed up things for Mercedes and helped VER in the WDC fight.

    Mercedes = screwing up Bottas to favour Hamilton since 2017. Mercedes knocked out Ferrari in this area for sure.

    1. Excatly how was Bottas screwed up? He was ahead on the track and hence was pitted first (both stops). Lewis then stayed out a bit longer because he had nothing to lose at that stage.

      Can you tell us how you would have done it so as not to “favor” any driver?

    2. He can’t! You’ll notice that 90% of MG1982s posts will be on articles when Lewis doesn’t win, doesn’t get pole or when Lewis says something “controversial”. Make of that what you will.

  16. geoffgroom44 (@)
    9th August 2020, 15:52

    Very interesting race. gr8 to see RB being able to challenge Mercs. Impressive overatking and overall performance from the one everyone was saying should go from RB, namely Aleax Albon. Fastest lap-until Lewis stole it on fresh tyres. Altogether an impressive performance from the RB team

  17. I’m a Verstappen fan… But except Verstapen, the race was not much fun.

    Mercedes basiclly melted away like their race tires.

    Most overtakes were straight up passes, with little wheel to wheel action, everyone just managing their tires.

    It could be a lot better.

  18. You can be 2 seconds a lap faster but if cant keep the tires in good shape then it is of little use. Similar situation in 2013 where Lewis got many pole positions but the Mercedes was a tire destroyer.

  19. An 8 from me..a very good race..action packed..and no guaranteed winner..partly down to tyres.
    Quite a accusation about max and tyre pressures from Lewis, put up proof or apologise….and I hated the way our National Anthem was sung and mutilated at the beginning…we are not the USA
    Roll on spain

  20. 8
    Someone finally beat Mercedes fairly.
    Best moments Max overtaking the Mercedes of Bottas and also when crossing the finish line.

    Don’t like the commentary when they try to create fake excitement. For example saying something like “5 laps to go and 8 seconds behind, can Lewis catch him?” What a ridiculous thing to say as Lewis ended 11 behind at the end.

    Also get rid of that underwear most people are wearing on their faces, you look really silly.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      9th August 2020, 16:01

      I’m sure they care more about protecting their fellow colleagues than how they look. Only a really terrible person would decide to not wear a mask simply because of their appearance.

  21. petebaldwin (@)
    9th August 2020, 15:59

    8 – Not en exciting wheel-to-wheel race but the strategy was fascinating to follow. Incredible drive from Verstappen.

  22. Not very exciting, although good to see someone other than Merc win this season. Not much wheel to wheel racing, except Albon who had some good overtakes. F2 and F3 had much better racing than F1 this weekend.

    1. geoffgroom44 (@)
      9th August 2020, 16:16

      Maybe Albon is starting to come good now after riding the ‘he must go’ media storm.

  23. Adam (@rocketpanda)
    9th August 2020, 16:05

    Much better than last week. Seems the Mercedes really doesn’t like the heat as much as the Red Bull does. Can’t help but feel Mercedes did Bottas no favours though. Verstappen was excellent, Albon did well and Leclerc was very impressive.

    Suspicious that Tracing Point dropped Hulkenberg behind Stroll, despite having beaten him for the whole race. Ricciardo looked like he just couldn’t get a break and what has happened to Vettel?

    1. geoffgroom44 (@)
      9th August 2020, 16:15

      It looks like Seb has lost heart.Not surprising really.

    2. Not true. Merc have very few issues in the heat alone. Combine the heat with massively increased tyre temps and/ or hold the race at a circuit of significant altitude… then yes, Merc struggle. In heat alone… not so much. I get it though, hope burns eternal.

  24. geoffgroom44 (@)
    9th August 2020, 16:14

    I see KMag got a penalty for something similar to last week…but Albon got the penalty that time.It seems KMag has some issues after running wide on the kerb to control the car coming back onto full track. So maybe Alex was correct last week, more a racing incident than a penalty issue.

  25. I’m a bit torn because while the variance in strategy was interesting & helped get Max in the fight I also feel that it sort of robbed us in terms of getting to any actual battling or overtaking which took away from the racing a bit.

    We saw some nice overtakes with Albon for instance & a pass for the lead with Max passing Bottas, But it all felt somewhat predictable given the difference in tyre life/performance on top of DRS. It all lacked that exciting battle & I don’t think any of it will be remembered beyond today.

    So on balance i’ll rate it a 7.

  26. Neil (@neilosjames)
    9th August 2020, 16:40

    More fun to watch than last week, but I can only get so much enjoyment when the ‘excitement’ up front is being provided by tyres falling apart even when the driver is trying to manage them.

    Fortunately the midfield had a far better outing than last week as well. Some nice overtakes and good battles, fairly unpredictable at stages… gave it an 8, as a one-off.

  27. What a blistering race!

  28. I think the reason I just can’t get excited anymore is the Sky coverage. They do their best and frankly the pre-race entertainment is better than the race. I love the old clips, but when it comes to the on track action (I use the word more in hope than expectation ) then somehow, every race just seems to be the same. Same over-excited tone of voice, same quips, some looking run-off areas, same podium, same pits. Just a corporate-edges-knocked-off festival of soulessness. When did we last see totally random winner? Maldonardo maybe….that was years ago.

  29. 7 from me, didn’t seem quite as much going on in the midfield as last race although the result was in doubt until near the end.

  30. 8/10, three drivers could have won and it really kept ya guessing. Funnily enough, the midfield battles were rather tame compared to what we’ve been used to in recent times. Different strategies = better racing. Will be good for RBR when Albon sorts his qualifying out. Barcelona this weekend should be interesting with 30deg temps expected, on a track that really punishes the tyres.

    1. Different strategies = better racing

      @roodda Wrong.

      Different strategies just lead to less competitive wheel to wheel racing. All the action takes place in the pits & when cars are on track the differences in tire compounds/life results in uncompetitive easy highway passing that simply isn’t as fun or satisfying to watch.

      I want to see cars racing on the actual racetrack with competitive wheel to wheel racing & genuine, exciting overtaking. We simply didn’t get that yesterday because of these horrible tires that formule tire is dominated by now.

  31. 9, maybe a bit exagerated but it’s so good to see a car\driver able to beat mercedes this time, mostly due to the tyres ofc, and like usual we had quite some action in the midfield, and thanks to the heavy tyre consumption, also at the front.

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