It’s the Australian GP this weekend as we head to the Land Down Under for a race in a revised track after a two-year gap from the sport.
This year the track will be characterised by wider corners and an additional DRS zone, making lap times approximately five seconds faster than before. The structural changes aim to improve race pace and make overtaking more possible for the drivers.
The need for the track changes was evident as only once in history has there been an overtake for the lead on the Albert Park Circuit.
Most corners in sector one have been widened, with turn six being widened by a massive seven meters, enabling cars to go from about 90 km/h to 150 km/h, setting up speed in excess of 330 km/h.
You can learn more about what changed at Albert Park here.
It’s a weekend of high-octane racing, and LV BET is offering all of the best Formula 1 betting options available.
FORMULA 1: AUSTRALIAN GP: BETTING TIPS
RACE WINNERS
Max Verstappen – The latest winner of the Jeddah GP is the favourite to win in Albert Park with odds of 6/5 (2.20). In addition, the extra DRS zone that has been implemented could play well into Redbull’s hands due to the immense straight-line speed. This was duly visible in Jeddah when Max stemmed past Leclerc for the win. We are also pricing Max Verstappen to win the Grand Prix from Pole Position and get the fastest lap at 5/1 (6.00).
Carles Leclerc – Championship leader Leclerc will be hoping to put in another solid performance and give a hard time to his rival Max Verstappen in an effort to keep the Dutch champion behind him in the standings. Charles is priced at 3/2 (2.50) to win the Australian GP giving him his second win this season. This year the Ferrari looks like a great machine capable of fighting for Championships, with The Prancing Horse valued at 3/5 (1.60) to be the winning car this Sunday.
Carlos Sainz – The Spaniard is priced at 8/1 (9.00) to clinch his first-ever victory in Formula 1 and increase his points tally to fight for his first world championship. Sainz showed great consistent performances last year, despite it being his first year with the Scuderia and taking some time to adapt to the car. As with every driver in the sport, your first competitor is your teammate as he is driving the same car, which adds more pressure on the Spaniard as his teammate has won a race already this year and leads the Driver Championship.
Top 3 finishers
Lewis Hamilton – Although he was only able to 10th place finish Jeddah, the seven-time world champion is renowned for his capability to extract every ounce of race performance from his Mercedes. The W13 has not been at its best – or anywhere close to it’s prestigious past self, so it’s up to the drivers to make the most out of it. The British driver is at 5/2 (3.50) to get on the podium places next Sunday and claim his second top-three finish of the season.
Fernando Alonso – The two-time world champion hasn’t started the season as he would have wanted, but we are pricing the Spaniard at 16/1 (17.00) to claim an unlikely podium and move up the standings. In Jeddah, Alpine showed promise with teammate Esteban Ocon finishing sixth, but misfortune for Alonso saw him retire from the race due to an engine issue, setting him down an engine early in the season.
Top 6 finishers
Kevin Magnussen – The returning Kevin Magnussen has hit the ground running in the opening races this season, scoring points and running in high places throughout the first two races. Both Haas drivers have hailed the car as being a competitive one, and Kevin is extracting the most out of it. We are pricing the Danish driver at 7/4 (2.75), to finish in the top six places next Sunday to continue on his incredible start to the season.
Pierre Gasly – For the Frenchman, it hasn’t been the brightest of starts; not finishing in the first race in Bahrain is far from ideal, but a points finish at Jeddah kickstarted the season for Gasly. We are pricing the experienced Alphatauri driver at 33/10 (4.30), to finish in the top six on Sunday.
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*Odds subject to change. Odds correct at time of publishing