Tyre spectacle guaranteed at Silverstone: 'Formula 1 teams to the casino'

Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas got the fright of their lives at the end of the Grand Prix at Silverstone when their band gave up without warning. Even the crash of Daniil Kvyat still seems to be a case of a flat tyre, which makes teams wonder about the situation for the second Grand Prix.

What are the problems for Pirelli?

We could see some crazy things there, as we go from the hardest compound tyres (C1, C2 and C3) to a set softer for the second race (C2, C3 and C4). With two Safety Cars, a one stop strategy on the hard tyre wasn't feasible for everyone, so a two stop strategy seems to be a must for the second Grand Prix.

Still, there will be teams and drivers who are willing to take the gamble. A pit stop takes a lot of time at Silverstone, so teams will want to do everything they can to go to the finish with the fewest pitstops. However, the risk is high, because not only are the tyres a compound softer, also the reason for the flat tyres is not yet clear.

F1 to the casino

Where at Hamilton, Sainz and Bottas can still be pointed to possible fragments of Raikkonen, the crash of Kvyat waited much earlier in the race. Pirelli has also indicated that at times there was too much pressure on the tyre and that the originally new tyre for 2020 could have handled this.

So the big question is whether Pirelli's tyres are really ready for it? Are the problems now solved with softer tyres and another kerbstone in Maggots and Becketts? If not, it will still feel like a casino to teams. Where they normally know when the band is on, they could hardly predict that now. Are you gonna go another round on your band, or are you gonna dive into the pit lane anyway?