talkSPORT betting tips – Best F1 bets and expert advice for the Austrian Grand Prix
Max Verstappen has been pushed hard at the last two races of the 2024 F1 season in Canada and Spain, and the world champion should face another strong challenge this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Verstappen has a 69-point lead in the championship, but Lando Norris has moved into second place with back-to-back runner-up finishes and looks set to throw down the gauntlet to the Red Bull ace again this week.
Austrian Grand Prix Tips
- Max Verstappen to finish 2nd (Race) - 3/1
- Sergio Perez top-6 finish (Race) - 8/13
- Nico Hulkenberg points finish (Race) - 2/1
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Max Verstappen to finish 2nd (Race) - 3/1
Max Verstappen has won seven of the first 10 races this season and built a healthy lead in his quest for a fourth world championship success.
The pack are clearly closing in on the Red Bull star, though, and recent races have not seen the Dutch driver dominating in the way he has over the past couple of seasons.
McLaren's Lando Norris has been leading the challenge to Verstappen this month and after close second places in Canada and Spain he looks ready to deny the favourite in Spielberg.
Verstappen has yet to win three successive races this season after his previous hat-trick attempts were foiled by Carlos Sainz in Australia and Norris's first career victory in Miami.
He has a strong but not perfect record in his team's home race, winning the Austrian Grand Prix four times as well as a 2021 Styrian Grand Prix success at the track. However, he has also been beaten there, with Valtteri Bottas winning for Mercedes in 2020, Charles Leclerc successful for Ferrari in 2021 and Lewis Hamilton winning the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring.
Norris is 5/2 for the race victory, but at better odds of 3/1, Verstappen to finish second may be the smarter way to approach the race.
Even though the chasers have been closing in, the champion is still virtually guaranteed to be in the hunt and Norris's young team-mate Oscar Piastri has not quite been able to match his pace of late.
Sergio Perez top-6 finish (Race) - 8/13
Sergio Perez has fallen well short of the standards expected of him this season and Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate is only fifth in the championship after a terrible run of two eighth places and two retirements in the last four races.
The Mexican will have no excuses whatsoever if he can't improve on that in Austria and a top-six finish should be the least he is capable of.
The Red Bull car goes well at the track and Perez was runner-up to Verstappen in the sprint race at Spielberg last season while finishing third in the grand prix despite starting 15th on the grid.
Nico Hulkenberg points finish (Race) - 2/1
Nico Hulkenberg has been out of luck when it comes to points in recent races, finishing 11th in four of the last five, but he has finished in the top 10 in three main events this year and could get his points tally ticking over again on Sunday.
The Haas team enjoyed their weekend in Austria last season as Hulkenberg took a stunning fourth place on the grid for the sprint race and hung on to finish sixth in the shorter event, while he qualified eighth for the grand prix before his engine failed.
The German has been a remarkably consistent performer this season and should be operating at the higher range of his capabilities at a track that should suit his car.
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