Formula 1 Is in Austria for a Second Consecutive Weekend
The ninth leg of a 23 race Formula 1 season takes place this Sunday at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. This will be the second time in a week that the picturesque circuit has hosted a Formula 1 race.
Déjà vu for many fans as the Red Bull Ring in Austria hosts its second F1 race in two weeks ©Michael4Wien/Pixabay
Last Sunday, Max Verstappen comfortably beat Lewis Hamilton with Valtteri Bottas taking third. At the chequered flag, the field was well strung-out with just four cars finishing on the lead lap. It was Verstappen’s teammate, Sergio Perez, who took fourth.
Is there good reason for the result to be any different this weekend? The answer is a resounding, yes! Consider this: last season, when this circuit staged its first back-to-back race weekend, five individual drivers left the venue with some form of silverware.
Will the Weather Cause Chaos?
Currently, the weather forecast for both Saturday’s qualifying and Sunday’s race is for warm humid conditions with rain throughout the day. Rain is the ultimate catalyst for chaos in all forms of motorsport. And some Formula 1 cars – particularly Mercedes – do not perform to their best when the temperatures rise.
Under these circumstances, hardcore Formula 1 race fans will tell you a carbon copy of last weekend’s race result is more impossible than improbable.
Of course, there are scores of betting opportunities on every Formula 1 race. So even if you still think we will witness Hamilton and Verstappen sharing the podium’s top-two steps for the seventh time this year, there are plenty more markets to bet on.
A Selection of Bets That Might Come Good on Race Day
Safety Car
If the track is wet at 3pm GMT (4pm CET) there is a very good chance the race will begin behind a safety car. Naturally, there is an outstanding chance of it being used if rain arrives during the race or if a driver crashes out.
William Hill is offering 8/11 on a safety car being deployed during the race.
Finishing Numbers
Overall finishing numbers – sometimes labelled ‘classified drivers’ in betting lists – have been high this season. So far this year 18-20-18-18-19-19-17-18 has been the individual race finishing numbers.
However, the best bet this time around might be to go with a low line. That rain could see a good number of cars spin out of the race and this venue has seen its fair share of non-rain induced carnage in the past. In 2015, only 14 cars were classified as finishers. There were 15 completions in 2018 and just 13 completed the first of two races here in 2020.
There are three under/over markets on the number of classified finishers at Ladbrokes. It offers 8/11 on ‘under 17.5 race finishers’. It is 7/5 for ‘under 16.5 race finishers’ and 11/5 on ‘under 15.5 race finishers’. Plenty to choose from, we will go for the ‘under 16.5’ option.
King Carlos II
Carlos Sainz Jnr has now completed 15 consecutive races and took sixth place here a week ago despite starting an unpromising 12th. He has also finished in the top-six in nine of those past 15 starts so the formbook indicates there is a good chance of another top-six finish on Sunday.
For most drivers rain will be of concern but not for Sainz, he seems to excel on wet tracks and slippery conditions. Maybe that should be no surprise as his father and mentor, Carlos Sainz Snr, is a two-time World Rally champion. Undoubtedly a chip off the old block, the 26-year-old Ferrari driver can be backed at 8/11 with GentingBet to repeat or better last week’s performance.
