F1 Tips: Paddy trader's 4 best bets for Sunday's French Grand Prix

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change

F1’s European Tour continues this weekend as the teams head to France for Round 12 of the 2022 season. With back-to-back wins for Ferrari, they will be hoping to make it three on the spin and further close the gap to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.

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Max looked to have an unassailable lead at the start of the month, but after recent results he will be looking back over his shoulder again at the encroaching Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton to get the fastest lap

The main story of the weekend is upgrades. Mercedes unveiled their efforts this week as they bid to further close the gap on Ferrari and Red Bull. With each delivered upgrade, the team have got quicker and quicker, to the point now where they have achieved four consecutive podiums, including the Fastest Lap award at Silverstone.

Hamilton in particular has found some form and now looks much more confident in the car. With the new upgrades hopefully adding more pace to a car that is already performing well I think Hamilton to get the fastest lap is a good price.

Schumacher, Alonso & Ocon to Finish in the Points

Looking at the Points Finish now and one driver who looks to have found some form over recent race weekends is Mick Schumacher. He can definitely be an erratic driver who is prone to error at times, but after achieving the first Points of his short career at Silverstone, he backed it up again last week in Austria to go back-to-back.

With some upgrades on the Haas car due this weekend, it is well within reach for Schumacher to go three in a row and continue pushing that middle pack. Joining him in this treble are team-mates Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.

For the past two seasons, McLaren have been leading the way for the middle pack, but this season Alpine have gained ground. They now sit level on Points in the Constructors’ and, with only one of McLaren’s drivers picking up consistent points, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them surpassed this week.

Ocon has had a very good July, picking up 6th and 5th place finishes either side of a DNF at Silverstone. Alpine have the better car, and have been continuously upgrading as the season has gone on, whilst McLaren seem stuck. Both Alpine drivers will look to capitalise on the new upgrades lined up for this weekend with a double Points finish.

Max Verstappen to Win

Finally, onto the Winner. Whilst Ferrari have had the better of Red Bull for the past two weekends I can’t see that continuing, the track layout should play to their strengths with the long straights and fast flowing sections. I’ll be doubling down on Max Verstappen here by choosing him as the outright winner.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both to finish on the Podium

As well as the double of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez both to finish on the Podium. Red Bull will be looking for a response after Austria and a double Podium would be the perfect one.