Formula 1 enthusiasts turn their attentions to the French Grand Prix that takes place in Le Castellet over the course of the weekend. The practice runs get started on Friday with qualifying taking place on Saturday and the race itself scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Here are our top French Grand Prix betting tips.
You can keep pace with the action live on Sky Sports with expert commentary and analysis provided by the team, including a host of F1 greats. We’re guaranteed an exciting few days of action and traders have put in the work to ensure punters can add extra spice to the occasion with a bet. Have your say on the race winner or play one of the many eye-catching specials, including fastest lap and podium finish. There’s something for everyone.
Hamilton Leads the Race
The current Formula 1 Drivers Championship table is headed by Britain’s Lewis Hamilton who has a haul of 162 points, having won five races to date. That’s three more than his nearest rival and it already looks like the pace-setter will take some shifting. He was pre-season favourite with the bookies and has had no trouble living up to expectations this term. Those who took the short price about Lewis being world champion again aren’t comfortable enough to begin counting their cash just yet, but they are in a great position.
Hamilton has Mercedes teammate Valterri Bottas in second place with the Finn having 133 points, having won two of the first seven races. Mercedes have dominated this F1 season so far with the seven races to date split between their two drivers. It’s unlikely Bottas will catch his teammate and wear the crown, even if he wanted to, but he’ll see a silver medal as a fantastic achievement, both for himself and his team. Having said that, there’s still plenty of racing to be done.
Seb Vettel sits in third place on 100 points going to France, ahead of Max Verstappen on 88 points and Charles Leclerc who can be found fifth in line with 72 points on the board. The Ferrari pilot has a big season ahead of him if he can continue the progress he has shown in the early exchanges and we’re sure he’ll get off the mark and win a major Grand Prix sooner rather than later. Its no surprise to see Mercedes lead the constructors championship, a full 123 points ahead of Ferrari in second. It’s safe to assume Mercedes will go very close to completing a clean-sweep this term.
Hamilton Won Last Year
Looking back at the results from last year’s French Grand Prix we see Lewis Hamilton claimed the champagne with a stunning performance. The victor took full advantage of a penalty handed down to main rival Seb Vettel in what was an incident-packed contest and casual followers of F1 will be hoping this year’s renewal goes close to living up to the standard we saw that day. Hamilton was followed home by Max Verstappen, with Kimi Raikkonen completing the podium places.
Hamilton needed to win the French Grand Prix last year to reclaim the lead in the drivers championship and he did just that, moving ahead of Vettel in the leaderboard. Lewis lead from start to finish that day and he did so almost unopposed due to a penalty for Vettel who was punished for his part in a collision with Bottas at the first corner. The German seemed determined to close the gap on Hamilton but, in trying to do so, he wrecked his own chances, ending the contest back in fifth place. A hammer blow for his chances of winning the title that year and a real gift for his foe. He’ll be determined to show a greater level of professionalism on Sunday.
Thanking his team at the conclusion of the race, Hamilton labelled it a great job by his team and a fantastic result for England on what he considered to be a beautiful Sunday. Spirits were high in the camp and they will be again heading into this weekend. Will that be the case at the finish line? Hamilton is the betting favourite to do the double and win the French Grand Prix again, with Mercedes nailed on to provide us with the first finisher.
Get the Best Price Possible
There will be a few after a nice price upset but it’s difficult to argue against the stance taken by odds-makers. Opposing Hamilton certainly hasn’t proven to be a profitable approach so far and those looking to back him in France will find Bet365 offering no more than 5/6 at the time of writing. That price was available before practice and qualifying and should shorten before the off. Our advice, if you plan on backing Hamilton, is to do it early.
Bottas is second favourite at 11/4 – top price Bet365 – with Vettel third in line at 9/2 with Ladbrokes. The fact the German is still to bag his first win of the season and feels he has unfinished business with this race following last year’s penalty means there looks to be a bit of value in that offer. We’re happy to back Seb at interest stakes. If you plan on following our lead we’d say be careful who you trust with your stake money as most firms offer only 4/1 on the same pick and there’s no joy to be had in taking ½ a point less about your driver.
If you’d like to support Vettel with your hard-earned cash but would prefer a bit more of a safety net you can take the talented pilot for a podium finish at 4/9 with Bet365. That price makes it a bet best suited to your weekend accumulators. If he is to make an impact on this race he’ll need a strong qualifying campaign and can be backed to win at 9/2 with Ladbrokes.