The F1 calendar has reached its halfway point with Charles Leclerc’s victory in Austria two weeks ago, and momentum has been swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Ferrari’s red hot start to the 2022 season was followed by six consecutive wins by Red Bull, five of which belonged to defending champion Max Verstappen. The Scuderia are now fresh off consecutive victories to give the team four on the season, and their deficit in the Constructor’s Championship stands at 56 points heading into a weekend at Circuit Paul Ricard.
Reliability issues have plagued a season in which Ferrari has been strong enough to compete for their first team title since 2008. Verstappen’s Driver’s Championship lead has been reduced to 38 points with Leclerc winning at Red Bull’s home track, and the Red Bull driver enters this week as the favorite to return to the top step of the podium.
Many teams are bringing upgrades to Le Castellet, and it could prove to bring even more competition to the front of the grid as well as a tightly-contested midfield.
To recap our picks from the Canada, British, and Austrian Grands Prix, we’ve been on a great run. In total, seven out of 11 plays were winners which us 14.2 units. In Montreal, we hit a nice combo of Carlos Sainz to podium, Hamilton to finish in the top six, and Fernando Alonso to score points for +650 odds, as well as both Alpine drivers to score points for +150. Our flyer of the week (Sainz Podium, George Russell Top 6 and Mick Schumacher Points Finish at 25-1) was very much in play until Schumacher experienced an engine failure and was forced to retire.
At Silverstone, we won a +475 play on Sainz to win a grand prix for the first time, and lost on Pierre Gasly to score points (-135) and a Lewis Hamilton/George Russell parlay to both finish in the top six (+107). Two weeks ago in Austria, we won with Charles Leclerc as the race winner (+310), Red Bull to have the driver to set the fastest lap (+100), and Lewis Hamilton to finish ahead of George Russell (+108).
We’re eager to build off a strong stretch of picks with another slate of best bets for the 2022 Lenovo French Grand Prix.
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Parlay: Max Verstappen to Win & Sergio Pérez to Finish on the Podium
Best Available Odds: +275 at DraftKings Sportsbook
Carlos Sainz’s maiden F1 win in Silverstone and Leclerc’s victory at Red Bull Ring marked the first time this season that Verstappen had gone consecutive races without winning. The 2021 French GP saw Verstappen finish first with Pérez in third, sandwiching Lewis Hamilton. We see nearly the same result happening this year, only replacing Hamilton with one of the Ferrari drivers.
Team with Double Points Finish: Alpine
Best Available Odds: -110 at PointsBet Sportsbook
The French racing team has shown strong pace all season, including double points finishes in three of the last four races. Esteban Ocon is seeking his first points in a home race, and Fernando Alonso looks to extend his point-scoring streak to seven races in a row.
Driver to Achieve the Fastest Lap: Lewis Hamilton
Best Available Odds: +900 at DraftKings Sportsbook
Hamilton accomplished this feat at Silverstone, but couldn’t replicate that in Austria last week. Mercedes have slowly begun to climb back into the week-to-week conversations for podiums. Even race wins in 2022 no longer seem farfetched for Mercedes. Between the two drivers for the team, Hamilton looks to be extracting the most pace from the car of late and has logged three straight podium finishes. At these odds, it is worth seeing if he can repeat his performance from his home grand prix.
