Gavin Puszczalowskyi looks at the penultimate race of the 2024 Formula season and picks his best bets.
The very first thing to say is congratulations to F1 Drivers Championship winner, Max Verstappen, who by finishing the Las Vegas Grand Prix ahead of Lando Norris, won his 4th consecutive drivers title. So, on that front, there is not much to race for.
But it is a different story in the Constructers Championship.
McLaren currently lead the championship going into the final 2 races with Ferrari behind them and both of these teams want the title badly. Ferrari last won the constructers title in 2008 with Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in the cockpit, and you have to go back to 1998 to find the last time McLaren won the Constructers Championship with a driver combination of Coulthard and Hakkinen.
The last time McLaren won the constructers championship, 7 of the current 20 drivers on the grid had not been born. It's all to race for.
There is a Sprint Race in Qatar. Last season Oscar Piastri claimed the Sprint win and McLaren will be stronger in Qatar than Vegas, due to it being much warmer and to the track, with the high speed corners, suiting the McLaren more. A confession the team have made themselves.
So, Lando, 2/1 and Piastri, 11/2, worth a play to win the Sprint.
For the Grand Prix itself, the obvious are all in contention. Both Ferraris, McLarens and one Red Bull, not Perez, obviously, but then come the out-of-nowhere Mercedes who surprised everybody, including themselves with a dominant 1-2 finish in Las Vegas. And, the winner of that race, George Russell, have been saving a power unite for the race in Qatar which tells you they could be strong again. Russell is 13/2 at AKBets and that is a play if you're looking beyond Verstappen, Leclerc and Norris.
To my favourite market. To finish in the points. Gasly in the Alpine has been strong recently, although he had to retire in Las Vegas last weekend. I fancy him to finish in the top 10 at 5/4. And I have a fancy for Tsunoda in the RB. He has finished in the points in the last 2 races and have shown a good level of consistency and maturity behind the wheel. He is 7/4 at Hills to finish in the top 10.
Enjoy the racing, good luck with your bets and always gamble responsibly.