Another week, another Grand Prix at Silverstone, another pair of Mercedes at the front of the Formula 1 field. This time, though, Lewis Hamilton is not the driver who will start an F1 race in Great Britain on the pole.
In a bit of an upset, Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas stole the No. 1 starting spot for Sunday’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. He did so with a blazing final lap in Saturday’s third qualifying session, barely edging Hamilton’s previously fastest lap time by 0.063 seconds.
“Yes!”
Career pole No. 1️⃣3️⃣ for @ValtteriBottas#F170 🇬🇧 #F1 pic.twitter.com/gX2eAm7MlE
Hamilton won last week’s British Grand Prix at the same track, one of the fastest on the Formula 1 schedule. Bottas likely would have finished second if not for tire trouble. Both Mercedes drivers ran medium tire compounds as they took the top to starting spots for this week’s race.
The drivers who qualified third and fourth for Sunday’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone, Nico Hulkenberg and Max Verstappen, respectively, did so on soft tires.
Below are the complete qualifying results and the starting lineup for Sunday’s F1 race, the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix.
The Mercedes of Bottas and Hamilton, the top two starters for Sunday’s F1 race, have been the dominant cars all season. Hamilton holds a 30 point lead over Bottas in the championship points standings.
Hulkenberg’s third-place run in qualifying is impressive, as he is filling in for Sergio Perez as the Racing Point driver battles COVID-19.
Below is the complete starting lineup for Sunday’s 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Either ESPN or ESPN2 will broadcast all 2020 F1 races in the United States using Sky Sports’ feed. All F1 races on ESPN and ESPN2 air commercial-free, and all practice sessions and qualifying air live and in replay across ESPN platforms.
In addition, ESPN Deportes serves as the exclusive Spanish-language home for all 2020 F1 races in the U.S.
The 9:10 a.m. ET start time for Sunday’s race means it will start at 3:10 p.m. local time. ESPN’s broadcast starts five minutes earlier at 9:05 a.m. ET.
Because nine of the 12 F1 races currently confirmed on the 2020 schedule will take place in Western Europe, expect similar Formula 1 start times for the next couple months.
For those who don’t have a cable or satellite subscription, there are four major OTT TV streaming options that carry ESPN — fuboTV, Sling, Hulu, YouTubeTV and AT&T Now. Of the four, Hulu and YouTubeTV offer free trial options.
Below are links to each.
For those who do have a cable or satellite subscription but are not in front of a TV, Formula 1 races in 2020 can be streamed live via phones, tablets and other devices on the ESPN app with authentication.
F1 in July released an update to what is now a 13-race schedule that runs through at least the end of October, though the organization hopes run to a total of 15-18 races before the season ends in December.
“We currently expect the opening races to be closed events, but hope fans will be able to join our events again when it is safe to do so,” F1 said in June. “The health and safety of all involved will continue to be priority number one, with Formula 1 and the FIA having a robust and detailed plan to ensure our races maintain the highest level of safety with strict procedures in place.”
Below is the current confirmed Formula 1 schedule for 2020.
