Canada Grand Prix Betting Preview, Tips and Odds

Roy Brindley

June 4th, 2019

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Recommended Bets:

• Lewis Hamilton to win the race 13/10 with Unibet
• Over 17.5 race finishers 11/8 with Bet365
• Fastest lap - Pierre Gasly 3/1 with Unibet

Canada: Formula 1’s Gas Guzzling Excursion

In 2014 Formula 1, on the cutting edge of all things ‘technology’, introduced new hybrid power units designed to make their brand of car racing eco-friendly. It was a bold step but mindful of their influence on car buyers around the world, the promotion of environmentally friendly horsepower was a truly commendable one.

On Sunday Formula 1 cars, with their tiny 1.6 litre engines that have limits on the amount of fossil fuel they can use during a race, will blast their way around the wildlife that lives in Parc Jean-Drapeau as they circulate Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve 70 times with the Formula 1 betting world watching.

That race distance could possibly be less if a model charged with waving the chequered flag decides to do so prior to the intended race conclusion. That was the case in 2018 when Winnie Harlow unleashed the chequered flag before race leader, Sebastian Vettel, had completed lap 69 (the scheduled penultimate lap). Therefore the official results were taken from lap 68 (in accordance with Formula 1 sporting regulations article 43.2) meaning Daniel Ricciardo’s successively faster fastest laps on laps 69 and 70 were voided.

Lewis to Take His Seventh Canadian Victory

Tight confines and high speeds are the order of the day in Canada. That makes it somewhat similar to Baku and there we witnessed a dominant display from the Mercedes team, and this factor should be taken into account when considering your Formula 1 betting strategy.

There is no good reason to expect any different this weekend and I’m fully expecting their multiple World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, to take his third consecutive race win which will be his fifth of the season and seventh victory at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, a place where he took his maiden win in 2007.

The Brit has won 12 of his last 17 race starts and his Mercedes team simply keep improving their car to stay ahead of their rivals. In what must be a disheartening development for Ferrari and Red Bull, Hamilton recently revealed his car is likely to have an upgraded engine this weekend.

Go High on Finishing Numbers

For the second consecutive year there were 19 race finishers at Monaco a fortnight ago. Given the nature of the wall-lined circuit and historical stats, it’s an exceptionally high completion rate. But high finishing numbers are no novelty in 2019. There were also 19 finishers in Bahrain, 18 in Spain and China.

Clearly, we have a reliable bunch of drivers on the current grid and new-age Formula 1 cars are not prone to mechanical breakdowns, they appear more reliable than ever.

This circuit may have been a car crusher during the 2000s but things have changed and there have been 18-17-19-17-17 finishers here in recent years. Therein Bet365’s 8/13 about the ‘over 16.5 finishers’ looks a penalty-kick but I’d go a step further and declare the 11/8 about an ‘over 17.5 finishers’ outcome is a value proposition.

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Bullish About Gasly for Fastest Lap

Daniel Ricciardo, then a Red Bull driver, was robbed of the ‘fastest lap’ distinction 12 months ago but it went to his team-mate Max Verstappen. This year, of course, there is an extra World Championship point for the driver who claims the race’ fastest lap providing it is recorded by a driver who finishes in the top-10.

So far in 2019, Max Verstappen is yet to claim the fastest lap distinction, primarily because stopping late into a race to fit fresh tyres would cost him valuable position. He has taken two thirds and a brace of silver medals in 2019, considering he is in the clear third fastest car, it is impressive form.

But Pierre Gasly, who drives identical Red Bull equipment yet often finds himself lagging (with 2019 form figures reading: 11-8-6-R-6-5), had nothing to lose when taking late pit-stops to claim both of the fastest laps he has recorded this season.

In a clean run race it is very likely he will be circulating the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in a remote sixth position late on Sunday afternoon and there will be a long gap back to the seventh-placed driver. It means he will once again be able to take a free pit stop and with fresh tyres should be able to claim a third fastest lap of the season, and he's priced at 3/1 with Unibet to do so.