The Italian Grand Prix at Monza will doubtlessly be the fastest of all races this season. Typically, drivers spend 75 percent of the lap at full throttle. Lewis Hamilton holds the record for the highest average speed recorded over a single Monza lap, averaging 164.2mph (254km/h) on his way to pole position at in 2020.
Only Belgium comes close to this venue in terms of the demands on cars and so that race is where to look when trying to find form pointers for this coming Sunday.
Bookmakers cannot see past Max Verstappen in the win market. His Red Bull is mighty in a straight line and that was demonstrated when he won in Belgium by nearly 18 seconds despite starting the race in 14th.
The Dutch driver is 4/11 to win this weekend. While he is unopposable, he is also unbackable at that price, unless you want to include him in a weekend acca bet.
You can back his teammate, Sergio Perez to finish on the podium though. He finished second in Belgium and will have identical equipment to the reigning World Champion, he can use it to good effect.
Comfortable Qualifying
Continuing to use Belgian results as a template, why not start the race weekend with a bet on the Saturday’s winning qualifying margin?
Verstappen was more than six-tenths of a second ahead of his closest rival when winning qualifying at the Spa Francorchamps circuit.
The Monza lap is shorter which could lessen that time advantage over a single lap. However, it is still easy to predict the provisional pole-setter (Verstappen is 1/2 in this market) will have an advantage of more than 0.25sec. This is a 13/8 poke with most Formula 1 betting sites and it’s very generous.
Yawning Gap
And finally, the race-winning margin… Verstappen won by a yawning margin in Belgium. It was aided by teammate Sergio Perez playing wingman in second. But there is no denying both Carlos Sainz and George Russell – third and fourth-placed finishers – had everything their own way and could still not get within 26 seconds of the race winner.
Once again, there is no reason to expect anything different at this venue – called the Temple of Speed by aficionados. In fact, with Verstappen not starting at the back of the grid – something he had to do in Belgium after taking new engine parts – it is not difficult to see him cruise home by an even greater margin.
Anyway, 13/8 is available about a 10sec-plus winning margin and it could be a winning bet 20 seconds before the second-placed car crosses the winning line!
F1 Weekend Best Bets
- Sergio Perez to Finish on the Podium - 6/5 Ladbrokes
- Qualifying Winning Margin, 0.25+ seconds - 13/8 bet365
- Race Winning Margin 10+ seconds - 13/8 bet365
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.