Race Preview – Canadian Grand Prix 2019
Race time: 9th June 2019 at 20:10 (Pretoria, GMT+2)
Place: Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada
The Canadian Grand Prix has been run at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since moving there in 1978. The track is named after one of Canada’s most famous racing sons, a driver who tragically died on his final qualifying lap of the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982.
The 2.710 miles/4.361 Km circuit is known as a test of endurance and braking ability for the cars. It is a track that, in its most basic form, is simply a series of straights and chicanes, a throwback to a time where not all the circuits on the calendar were designed by the same company.
Throw in one hairpin and you have a track with big braking zones and slipstream opportunities that is made for overtaking. The track also features the famous ‘Wall of Champions’ a turn where drives are trying to carry as much speed as possible into the corner while avoiding the barrier on the outside of the final turn.
What do you need to know?
This has really been Lewis Hamilton’s race to lose as of late. The British driver won three races in a row from 2015-2017 in his Mercedes, and he also won in 2012 in the McLaren for good measure. His domination of the race was ended last year when Sebastian Vettel popped the champagne for Ferrari after a grueling race in tricky conditions.
There is some noise in the paddock that this race marks Ferrari’s best chance to win since the long straights of Bahrain, mainly because straight-line speed is the one strength that Ferrari currently boasts over its rivals.
Betting Predictions
Hamilton is just about the top pick for everything at this event. He is the favourite to be fastest in practice, qualifying, and to win the race, with only the fastest lap having any of his opponents ahead of him in terms of odds. For the fastest lap you can get Max Verstappen at 3.25 with BetXChange, outstanding odds given that Verstappen is a driving machine when it comes to being the fastest car on the track for a two or three lap spell seemingly every race.
Taking Hamilton at 1.05 for pole position is the easy bet, but watch those Ferrari’s in practice to see if their pure speed translates to quick lap times. If it does, then maybe Vettel at 3.50 is worth a punt.
If you prefer to bet on the race, then you should wait for the qualifiers to finish before you make the final decision. One of the reasons that Ferrari has been struggling behind Mercedes, is that their tyres tend to go off quickly in the dirty air behind their opponents. If either Ferrari drive can land on pole then odds of 2.05 for Ferrari to be the winning constructor seem like outstanding value.
Winning tip: Lewis Hamilton is the man for Canada and he is the man in form. He is the favourite in Canada at odds of 1.00 with BetXChange and if he can out qualify the Ferrari’s then he has to be the best bet to win the race.
