Free tips Formula One Preview: Azerbaijan Grand Prix Betting Tips & Predictions (Sunday)

Start your F1 weekend on Friday with Max a possible table topper
There are three practice sessions ahead of any Formula 1 race and the online bookmakers, considerate souls, always price them up for us. However, as one has a direct impact on the likely results of the next they do adopt a ‘one-at-a-time’ policy. That means, for now, you can bet on Friday’s opening session – and you should do.
All the major online bookmakers – William Hill, bet365*, Coral, Betfred etc – are unanimous in their belief Lewis Hamilton will top the opening practice time sheets, making his their 6/4 favourite. Teammate, Valtteri Bottas is 5/2.
Unquestionably the F1 bookmakers know their stuff and are acutely aware that this circuit with an enormous 2.2km straight should see their Mercedes cars enjoy a comfortable advantage over its rivals. However, will Mercedes technical staff send out this duo with instructions to go hell-for-leather? We think it’s doubtful.
“Vettel literally just came alongside me and turned in and hit me”
Baku has served up no shortage of on-track drama since joining the calendar
Watch this weekend’s Azerbaijan GP on Sky F1: https://t.co/v82dEFMZw7 pic.twitter.com/oacObx7Kag
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 24, 2019
Mercedes know there car is great on circuits where the inference is on top-end speed. Their Achilles heel is cornering and that is something the Red Bull cars have no issues with. Unlike their rivals, their shortcoming is straight-line speed. So, with the opening practice session normally no more than a data-finding mission, we might see the ironic situation whereby the slower of the fast cars go quickest courtesy of trying to maximise its top-end speed.
That might not make too much sense so just consider this: In the past two years at this race/venue a Red Bull car/driver has topped the time sheets in three of the opening four practice sessions.
Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly are their 2019 drivers and they can be backed at 16/1 (William Hill) and 25/1 (bet365*) to go fastest in ‘Practice 1’ which is a great proposition …and if they don’t just consider they are likely to be even greater odds for the second practice session later in the day.
Kimi the fox for a Top-6
The race itself is sure to be very entertaining. This venue has given us no end of thrills and spills since it made its debut in 2016 and it’s unlikely that 15 or more cars will see the chequered flag. This should allow for some unlikely candidates – outside of the traditional ‘big six’ – to actually scrape into the top-6.
Kimi Raikkonen looks over-priced at BetVictor’s 11/4. The Finnish driver is a cunning old fox with enough experience to avoid trouble spots and give second best when a collision is likely. This track-craft, at a venue where he finished second last year, could see sneak into the top-6 and enhance his record of finishing in the top-10 of all 2019 race starts.
Are you anticipating any surprises at the Baku GP?https://t.co/blNSUR7D5b
— Nigel Mansell CBE (@nigelmansell) April 25, 2019
* Odds correct at the time of writing
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