Charles Leclerc’s win in Belgium proved what we all indicated in our recent betting previews. The Monegasque has enormous talent, and he will pretty soon be an equal competitor for the title to all other superstars in this sport. His first chance to prove all this will be at the Italian Grand Prix this weekend in Monza.
But there is one catch there. In order to be competitive, his vehicle has to be constant. Ferrari did improve its performances over the last three or four races, which was obvious, but they need to stay fast until the end of the campaign.
Preview
As for Leclerc, it seems that his morale is much better than the four-time champions’ Sebastian Vettel, who is experiencing a nightmare this year. So many bad things have happened to the German, from driving incidents, up to mechanical failures, and we are positive that he wants to end this season as soon as possible.
On the other side, the Mercedes’ duo is pushing ok, and so far they are safe. Even though they aren’t performing as at the start of the competition, the Silver Arrows are still untouchable when it comes to their positions in the standings.
Also, nobody should forget Max Verstappen, who finished his action at the Belgian Grand Prix pretty early. That will only motivate the young Dutchman to be even better at the famous Monza.
Now about the event on Sunday, there is a lot to be told. During the first training session this Friday, Leclerc took the first place. But we need to add that the conditions were absolutely terrible, as the heavy rain created a mess on the track.
McLaren’s drivers took the second and the third place in this training session, and they were a pleasant surprise. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, while Alexander Albon took place no.5. But there is one interesting thing, both Mercedes’ drivers spent 11 laps on the track each, while Leclerc and Vettel who was eight drove 20, and 19 laps, respectively.
Verstappen didn’t adjust to the conditions very well and ended 7th behind his teammate.
What can this tell us? Well, it is simple. Mercedes is hiding its strategy, and they didn’t want to risk the vehicles in these slippery conditions. Meanwhile, Ferrari is preparing for this race and wants to be ready at all costs. The Prancing Horse can’t allow for Mercedes or Red Bull to take the win at their own ground.
These results don’t have to mean anything, but they are giving us some guidelines for the race.
The crucial factor here will be the weather, and it seems that there will be mixed conditions in the next two days. According to the prognosis, we should have a dry track for tomorrow’s qualifiers, but Sunday will probably be a rainy day.
Predictions
Ferrari has the pace and has the swing at the moment, which is maybe even more important for them. They know this tracks like a palm of their hand, which should give them a starting edge. Mercedes seems to be troubling on the rain, but that could also be a trick of the Silver Arrows. Verstappen is near too. Still, our first suggestion here might be odd for you, but believe us once we tell you that this could be a jackpot. Nobody is talking about Alexander Albon, whose potential is massive, and who started adjusting to the professional demands. This guy has the quality to finish among top 6 drivers, and BetXChange is offering nice odds for that, 0.50. If you still have doubts about that, then pick Charles Leclerc to win this Grand Prix with the odds at 1.25.
