The Formula One season took another swing last time around with Lewis Hamilton storming his way to the Canadian Grand Prix title. That was an important win for the Mercedes driver not only for his own points haul, but his main title challenger Sebastien Vettel failed to get himself on the podium. So that was a big weekend for Hamilton who closed the gap on Vettel to 12 points now in the Drivers World Championship. Vettel goes as 5/4 favourite at Sky Bet to land the win in Baku.
Both have won three races each this season, with Hamilton’s teammate Bottas taking the other one. But that was the first race of the season that Vettel had failed to pop up on the podium and that makes the Azerbaijan Grand Prix all that more interesting. So what will go down in Baku? Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was fastest in practice on Friday before crashing while Lewis Hamilton was only the 10th quests on the street circuit.
Verstappen was impressively quick as he topped both practice sessions and edged out Valtteri Bottas. While Hamilton didn’t have a great run on Friday, Vettel was only the fifth quickest but did look pretty solid to go better. So if the Red Bulls can get themselves in the mix in Azerbaijan, with them clearly having been off the pace compared to the Mercedes and Ferrari drives this season, then this should be a fascinating contest because Verstappen’s team mate Daniel Ricciardo was third fastest.
So out of nowhere the Red Bull team look as if they are going to be well in the hunt for podium spots here. The Track is very difficult, for all drivers and there were many who had to go down escape roads to get out of problems. Poor Fernando Alonso is probably wishing to be back at the Indianapolis as he woes with McLaren continues. Not only is he starting from the back fo the grind because of penalties, he broke down in the second practice.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix betting odds
Sebastian Vettel 5/4, Lewis Hamilton 13/8, Valtteri Bottas 7/1, Max Verstappen 8/1, Daniel Ricciardo 12/1, Kimi Raikkonen 25/1, bar 100/1
Azerbaijan Grand Prix Pole Position betting odds
Lewis Hamilton 7/4, Sebastian Vettel 7/4, Max Verstappen 9/2, Valtteri Bottas 9/2, Daniel Ricciardo 12/1, Kimi Raikkonen 14/1, 100/1 bar.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix betting odds promotion
Each week you can claim a free £5 bet with bookmaker SkyBet. This is because they run their great Sky Bet Club which is open to all punters. After opening an account with the bookmaker (where you can claim a free £20 bet bonus) you can go and opt into the Sky Bet Club. There, just make £25 worth of qualifying bets each week before 11.59:59 pm on Sunday evening and you will be credited with a free £5 bet to use! Just stay in the club by making the qualifying bets each week and you can keep collecting the free bets!
Azerbaijan Grand Prix betting predictions
This track is going to test a lot of drivers come race day. Hamilton’s season is looking so up and down that it is worth skipping over his price in both above markets. The rise of the Red Bulls could make things very interesting, but still, Ferrari’s Vettel is going to be good money to go and get the win in this one. We would look for some value on Bottas as well because where Hamilton was struggling, he looked pretty solid in contrast. Bottas is 10/11 for a top three finish.
