The Formula 1 circus heads to Sin City, for the penultimate round of the 2023 Formula 1 season. This will be the very first race in the streets of Vegas, and with both Championships sewn up long ago, hopefully we see some exciting racing in the dessert.
With just two races left, let’s go out on a high with some big priced underdogs to throw a spanner in the works this weekend.
2023 Formula One Betting Tips – Las Vegas Grand Prix
Brazilian Grand Prix Review
Ferrari looked quick out of the box yet again at the Brazilian Grand Prix, with the Prancing Horse finishing 1-2 in FP1. Saturday morning had qualifying, and it was once again Max Verstappen showing his dominance, taking Pole by 0.3s from Charles Leclerc.
Verstappen managed to win the Sprint Race, despite Lando Norris taking Pole, with the young Brit coming home 2nd, and Perez in 3rd. It appeared quite evident that once again Red Bull were the team to beat, with McLaren more than likely being their main challengers.
Unbelievably, Charles Leclerc crashed into the barriers on the formation lap, ruining one of our bets before the race even started. A further crash heading into turn 1 ruined the race of several drivers, including both Aussies, who did nothing wrong at all. A safety car was deployed, followed by a red flag, meaning the race would be re-started.
It was evident early that Verstappen and Norris were the class of the field, as they dominated from start to finish, finishing 1st and 2nd, with Verstappen taking his 17th win of the season, remarkable. Alonso and Perez had a remarkable race long battle, that ended in Alonso with a brilliant overtake on the final lap to take 3rdposition by just 0.053s.
Las Vegas Grand Prix Preview
This is the first new track on the calendar since the Miami Grand Prix in 2022, which Max Verstappen won. The two new races in 2021 were Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which were both won by Mercedes. Hamilton has a propensity for being quick at new venues, so I will suspect he will be up the pointy end of the grid, especially after the Mercedes’ poor showing in Brazil.
The race times in Vegas are going to be odd, with the sessions being late at night. This should lead to some cold temperatures, and as such Pirelli have brought the 3 softest tyres in their arsenal to this race. In qualifying, this should help the likes of Ferrari, and to an extent Oscar Piastri, who has shown he is very good at getting the tyres up to temperature. Unfortunately, in races, this tends to hurt Piastri, who struggles to keep his tyres in the right window for as long as his teammate.
In all likelihood, Max Verstappen is going to dominate again this weekend. However, we will have a couple of pot shots at some outsiders, with Lewis Hamilton a likely candidate, Charles Leclerc likely to be quick in the Ferrari, and Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez due for a win. Perez also loves street circuits, and I give the Mexican a real chance this weekend.
Aston Martin seemed to make a comeback of sorts in Brazil, and whilst I wouldn’t be surprised to see Alonso near the podium places, I don’t believe the Aston Martin has the straight-line speed that will be required here.
So, I’ll have a play of Perez being quick, Leclerc qualifying well, and a couple of small plays on Hamilton having a good race. Let’s just pray that Max gives someone else a go….
Other Bets
Sergio Perez (Race Winner) - $23 @ Betfair (0.5u)
Lewis Hamilton (Race Winner) - $24 @ Betfair (0.5u)
Lewis Hamilton (Top 3) - $3 @ Unibet (1u)
Charles Leclerc (Pole Position) - $5.80 @ Betfair (1u)
Red Bull (both drivers top 3)
$3 (2 Units)
