British Grand Prix betting tips: F1 preview, picks and analysis
Louis Bollard is expecting Alpine to get amongst the points battle in the British Grand Prix, where he also has a 66/1 selection.
Formula One betting tops: British Grand Prix
3pts Pierre Gasly to finish in the points at 9/4 (BoyleSports, Betfred)
1pt Alpine to secure a double points finish at 15/2 (Sky Bet)
0.5pt Fernando Alonso fastest lap at 66/1 (Sky Bet, BetVictor, Betfred)
3pts Alpine to beat Haas in the Constructors' Championship at 2/1 (bet365)
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Formula One heads to Silverstone this weekend for the British Grand Prix, the final leg of a thrilling triple header. Last time out in Austria, it came to blows at the front of the field as we got flashbacks to 2021 with Max Verstappen's over-the-limit defending resulting in dramatic contact between him and Lando Norris.
Expect this feud between friends to carry over into this weekend where they will both be in contention for the win again, a throwback to Lewis Hamilton vs Nico Rosberg.
Alpine to be strong
Silverstone is another track which exposes weaknesses and tests all aspects of an F1 car, so don't expect the form line from Austria to continue. One team I expect to return to their pre-Austria form is ALPINE.
The French team have been making steady progress since their dire start to the season and in Spain they confirmed they are the fifth-best car at the moment, even ahead of the tumbling Aston Martin.
PIERRE GASLY is the pick of the drivers to score points, having finished in the top 10 in the last four grands prix and ahead of his teammate in each race since Esteban Ocon rammed into him in Monaco. Instead of backing Ocon for points too, the value lies in backing Alpine double points finish at 7/1 and higher.
Last time out, they were trumped by Haas, who have a car that has always loved the high traction out of slow corners nature of the Austrian circuit. I expect this to be a one-off for Haas and Alpine will prove to be at the head of midfield once again.
Despite not scoring points in the previous five races, Haas now lead Alpine by 10 points in the championship. Alpine have much higher aspirations than to just beat minnows such as Haas, and with Aston Martin struggling at present, point scoring at the head of the midfield is easy enough. I expect Alpine to close this gap and overtake Haas by the end of the season, which makes for a strong bet at 2/1.
Alonso fastest lap
Aston Martin are struggling at the moment, with the main cause of this being tyre degradation issues. This is frustrating FERNANDO ALONSO and we saw this come out in his shunt with Guanyu Zhou at the weekend. Despite signing a new contract, he looks the least motivated he has been since his second stint at McLaren.
Positively for Alonso, he has the joint-most fastest laps this season with two. Last time out, he pitted right at the end for a tyre change to go for fastest lap despite being in P18 and not able to score a point. Only he knows whether this was a tyre degradation issue or an unmotivated Alonso wanting something to push for, but the stage is set for the same set of circumstances to arise this weekend and he might just take the lead in the fastest lap championship at 66/1.
Other drivers' chances
Max Verstappen
It's been a while since he has had a legitimate challenger on a weekly basis and has shown he is still willing to risk it all since 2021. Has a race on his hands this week, with his friend who may well soon be his enemy.
Lando Norris
The championship needed some spice and he has delivered it. Car is suited to this track and he would love nothing more than to beat Verstappen after what happened last time out.
George Russell
Considered lucky for his win last weekend but it was a very strong performance, even had he finished P3. Still has the upper hand in the teammate battle and is in the mix for a podium again this weekend.
Oscar Piastri
A messy weekend which almost resulted in a win. Had he not had his lap time deleted or contact on lap one he may have won the race. Chance to go well at the front this weekend after just missing out on his first ever podium at this venue last season.
Charles Leclerc
One or the worst weekends in a career which has had its fair share of terrible weekends. Car looks clearly behind the Mercedes and McLaren now and this track should only amplify that gap.
Posted at 0800 BST on 03/07/24
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