Bottas: Mercedes was ‘sleeping’ with "far from ideal" F1 strategy

Valtteri Bottas has questioned Mercedes’ strategic decisions after it was beaten to victory by Max Verstappen at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.

Pirelli’s decision to bring softer tyres to this weekend’s race appeared to be a costly one for Mercedes with it struggling considerably with blistering and tyre degradation.

Bottas managed to maintain the lead over Verstappen in the first stint but after the second round of stops, he was easily dispatched by the Dutchman around the outside of Luffield.

He was later overtaken by Hamilton for third place.

Reflecting on the race, Bottas appeared to criticise Mercedes’ strategy decisions.

"Yes, very frustrating," Bottas said. "Obviously, starting from pole and finishing third, it’s not ideal. As a team we were sleeping at some point, when Max got ahead of us and my strategy was far, far from ideal, so we have a lot to learn from today."

Bottas and Verstappen stopped together on Lap 32 but the Finn was unable to keep up with the Red Bull because as soon as he tried to push, the tyres "just fell apart".

"Of course I was trying, if there was a chance, to keep up with Max, but as soon as I started to push, towards the end, the tyres just fell apart," Bottas added. "There was a lot of blistering on the tyres for us today and it seems like Red Bull had none, so they clearly have an edge over there."

The result means Bottas sits third in the drivers’ championship, four points behind Verstappen in second and 34 points behind team-mate Hamilton.