It seems that this F1 championship might be different than most of the previous ones. Why? Well, we now have Max Verstappen and his Red Bull challenging Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, wanting to take over their spot at the top of the caravan. It is more than obvious that these two parties hold a major advantage over the rest of the competition and that they won’t have a worthy opponent this year. Ferrari is terrible, McLaren is still an enigma, but it is highly doubtful that the English team will be consistent enough to present a problem for the Silver Arrows and the Bulls.
BetXChange brings a preview of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Preview
From all the above mentioned, you can already guess that there won’t be too many candidates for winning this race. Hamilton and Verstappen are the only ones in the mix right now because we aren’t too sure that neither Bottas, Norris, nor Ricciardo are ready to interfere and spoil the plans of the leading duo.
Just to be perfectly clear about one thing right away. We didn’t mention Ferrari’s drivers, Leclerc and Sainz, because of the Prancing Horse’s troubles with the vehicle. Currently, the Italian manufacturer has a slightly above-average engine, and it seems that this might be another frustrating year for their army of fans across the world. Unless there is a radical upgrade of the vehicle, they will be the third or fourth team in the caravan. Right now, Leclerc and Sainz can’t attack the top spot on the podium.
To come back to the battle between Verstappen and Hamilton. Max had an almost perfect performance in Italy, which eventually earned him a victory there. However, we need to mention that he dominantly held the lead ahead of Hamilton without giving the champion the slightest chance for passing him over.
It was the continuation of their battle from Bahrain once Hamilton won, but far less confidently. Verstappen pressure the Brit, even overtaking him at some point, but only to hand back the top spot following track violation while passing over Lewis.
As for the lowest place on the podium, we expect to see the battle between Bottas and Norris, who is driving fabulously right now. His McLaren Mercedes proves to be a very solid car, and when we add Norris’ talent, it might be the perfect combination for another great result.
Bottas will have to shine at one moment. Do not forget that this man was challenging Hamilton for the title two years ago, and that he managed to post several wins last season. He might have been a bit slower in the past two races, but that doesn’t have to mean anything in the future.
Previous Races
After a 22-year pause, the Portuguese Grand Prix came back last season, only this time at Portimao, not Estoril. The winner of that race was Lewis Hamilton, who took the pole position and had the fastest lap as well. That victory allowed the Brit to jump over Michael Schumacher as the driver with the most triumphs in Formula 1 history.
Hamilton’s teammate, Valtteri Bottas, finished second, and Verstappen ended the race as third. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fourth, and Pierre Gasly from Alpha Tauri Honda fifth.
Prediction
We had to crosscheck some details to see what is the most beneficial pick for this event. In our opinion, Hamilton and Verstappen are going to take the top two places, and betting on either of them to finish on the podium would be a sure thing. Of course, the odds are not that great; Hamilton is 0.25 and Verstappen 0.28.
Check out BetXChange for more odds and markets.
