A hot rolled thin cast strip product and method for making the same

A hot rolled steel strip made by the steps including assembling a twin roll caster, forming a casting pool of molten steel of such composition that the cast strip produced comprises by weight, greater than 0.25 % and up to.1 % carbon, between 0.40 and 2.0 % manganese, between 0.05 and 0.50% silicon, less than 0.01% aluminium, counter rotating the casting rolls to solidify metal shells and forming a steel strip, hot rolling the steel strip such that mechanical properties at 10 % and 35 % reduction are within 10 % for yield strength, tensile strength and total elongation, and coiling the hot rolled steel strip at a temperature between 550 and 750 º C to provide a majority of the microstructure comprising pearlite, along with bainite and acicular ferrite. The steel may have a free oxygen content between 5 and 50 ppm or between 25 and 45 ppm.