F1 Tips: Austrian Grand Prix best bets including a 10/1 Alonso punt

Austrian Grand Prix Tips:

Sprint Shootout – Fernando Alonso (E/W)
Sprint Race – Max Verstappen
Podium Finish – Lewis Hamilton

*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

The Formula 1 circus heads to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the ninth round of the 2023 season this weekend.

Max Verstappen has cruised to the chequered flag in the last four races and Red Bull will hope their golden boy can make it five at the team’s home race.

WELCOME TO PP NEWS: NEW TO US? CLICK HERE FOR OUR £/€20 SIGN-UP OFFER

Let’s be honest, the season is in danger of petering out. We’re still a month away from the summer break but the drivers’ championship and constructors’ championship look as good as done.

Hopefully, the return of the Sprint format can liven things up and the fast and furious nature of the circuit should, at least, provide plenty of overtakes.

The latest Austrian Grand Prix odds are on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app. I’ve picked out a few best bets for the weekend so it’s lights out and away we go…

Austrian Grand Prix
Qualifying: Friday 4pm
Sprint Shootout: Saturday 11am
Sprint: Saturday 3:30pm
Race: Sunday 2pm
TV: Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports F1

Sprint Shootout – Fernando Alonso (E/W)

Despite his concerns about Aston Martin having just one practice session to test out their upgrades, the underlying numbers suggest Fernando Alonso should be in the mix to come out on top in the Sprint Shootout.

The Sprint Shootout is effectively a condensed qualifying session to set the grid for the Sprint – and only runaway championship leader Max Verstappen (3.9) has a better average qualifying result than Alonso (4.3) this season.

The upgraded Aston Martin performed well in Canada last time out and the Spanish driver qualified third for that race (starting second after penalties were applied) so he’s got the one-lap pace to suggest a strong performance can be expected.

Sprint Race – Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has been utterly dominant in the last four rounds and is, rightly, the strong favourite to continue his winning streak.

He has a superb record at the Red Bull Ring with four victories from the last seven races, including the Styrian Grands Prix, although the critical aspect is the better price for the Dutchman to take the chequered flag in Saturday’s Sprint compared to Sunday’s race.

As previously mentioned, Verstappen is the strongest qualifier in 2023 so you would fancy him to get on the front row for the Sprint and convert that into a first-place finish. He did just that last year.

Podium Finish – Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes’ revival since scrapping their zero-sidepods concept has been one of the talking points in recent weeks. Lord knows we need some amid the Verstappen domination…

A couple of podiums in a row suggests Lewis Hamilton has his spark back and his upgraded car has the pace to genuinely challenge for the upper end of the points.

Hamilton has a decent record at the Red Bull Ring – six podium finishes in 11 races since 2014 – and he can overcome the lack of practice before Friday’s qualifying to set himself up for a top-three finish on Sunday.