Bottas says Mercedes was 'sleeping' when Verstappen got ahead

Valtteri Bottas said Mercedes left the door wide open for Max Verstappen to win the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Bottas led away from pole position and controlled the early spell of the race, but Verstappen was on an alternate strategy and jumped ahead in the first pit-stop window. Bottas would lose second position to Mercedes teammate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the closing laps.

The Finn was not happy with how Mercedes had handled his strategy.

Speaking immediately after the race, Bottas said: "Very frustrating, 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…