Last year, it was Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton battling it out in a thrilling 2021 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship. This time around, Verstappen is going head to head with Charles Leclerc and the early signs are that it could be an exciting tussle, with little to separate the two drivers after five races.
Verstappen finished nineteenth in Bahrain to set alarm bells ringing that the Red Bull cars weren’t ready to compete this season, although the Dutchman has since won three of the past four races and the only blip was a retirement in Melbourne.
However, the 24-year-old was a relatively comfortable winner in Miami and is now eyeing a third consecutive win as he sits just nineteen points behind Charles Leclerc who is continuing to rack up points but needs to start winning again soon.
Can Leclerc Reverse the Finishing Order in Spain?
Charles Leclerc is a Formula 1 champion of the future but it’s not certain exactly when in the future that will be. The Monaco driver has looked impressive in his Prancing Horse car this season, winning in Bahrain and Australia, while he has also been consistent when finishing second in Miami and Saudi Arabia.
At the age of 24, he has grown up competing against Verstappen and the friends are likely to be tussling it out on Sunday according to the Formula 1 odds, with the drivers having won all the races between them so far. There’s an argument to back both of them and come away with a profit whoever wins.
Sainz Bidding to Become Top Ferrari Driver
Carlos Sainz is also driving for Ferrari and the Spaniard will hope to achieve great things in his native race, with the 27-year-old having landed a podium spot in Miami and he certainly won’t be under team orders when it comes to allowing Charles Leclerc a prime position in the race.
Having retired in Australia and Italy, it will have come as a relief to finish the recent Formula 1 race and he could be the best each-way bet considering his Formula 1 odds compared to the front two in the betting.
Sergio Perez is currently third in the standings and he’s available at around the 16/1 mark to land a maiden victory for the season, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton trading at an even bigger price. Since finishing third in Bahrain, Lewis has been further down the pecking order.
The Spanish Grand Prix takes place at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona and as with every race this year, the key question surrounds whether anyone can stop the dominant Mercedes pair of Nico Rosberg and Championship favourite Lewis Hamilton. Read on for our outright betting tips, thoughts on the Grand Prix and the best online betting odds from our live odds comparison.
Despite leading the Drivers Championship by four points, Rosberg is the second favourite, both for outright success in the world title battle and for success here at the Spanish Grand Prix. The German has won one race to Hamilton’s three but because the British driver didn’t finish in the opening race in Australia Rosberg has the upper hand…for now.
Hamilton is looking for a fourth consecutive win here and is the clear favourite, Bet365 offering odds of just 4/7 here, his Mercedes teammate out at betting odds of 9/4 with the same firm and Fernando Alonso, the home favourite and last year’s winner, a distant third favourite priced at odds of 14/1 with William Hill.
Sebastian Vettel, the man who has dominated F1 for so long, is back at odds of 20/1 and even just four races into the 2014 Formula 1 season I think we can safely say he won’t be defending his world title yet again.
The Mercedes duo have now completed a hat-trick of one-twos this season and we simply have to fancy it will happen again here, such has been the ease with which the two have controlled the previous races. It might be a boring, predictable betting tip but there it is: Hamilton to win, Rosberg to finish second.