F1 Tips:
1st Practice Session – Carlos Sainz (E/W)
Fastest Qualifier and Win Race – Max Verstappen
#WhatOddsPaddy – Ferrari to Have the Fastest Lap
*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
Can anyone stop Max Verstappen and Red Bull? That’s the big question heading into the 2024 Formula 1 season.
The Dutchman won 19 of last season’s 22 races to romp to a third-consecutive drivers’ title, while team-mate Sergio Perez won two to secure second place in the standings and help the Bulls claim the constructors’ crown by an absolute country mile.
The same 20 drivers are set to take to the grid in Bahrain for the opening race of the new campaign, but a couple of teams have rebranded in the offseason as AlphaTauri have become the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team and Alfa Romeo are now Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber.
While the likely continuation of Red Bull’s domination means a repeat of last season could be the cards, there should be more excitement in the new campaign as the majority of drivers are racing for contract extensions and Lewis Hamilton is preparing for his shock switch to Ferrari.
It is the fourth year in a row that the high octane Bahrain International Circuit kicks off the F1 season and a jam-packed calendar boasts a record-breaking 24 races. Woof!
I’ve taken a look at Paddy Power’s odds for the Bahrain Grand Prix and picked out a few fancies. For the first time this season, let’s put our foot down and get to it!
Bahrain Grand Prix
Qualifying: Friday 4pm
Race: Saturday 3pm
TV: Sky Sports F1
1st Practice Session – Carlos Sainz (E/W)
After struggling to convert their speed over one lap into race pace last season, Ferrari’s stated design aim for the SF-24 has been to improve the latter without hindering the former.
Pre-season testing has given the team a bit of hope that they’ve done a decent enough job on that front, with their two drivers clocking the fastest times and pumping in a good number of laps.
It was Carlos Sainz who put in the fastest lap of the three-day test and the outgoing driver should be hitting the ground running in the 1st practice session on Thursday.
The fact Paddy’s paying three places makes Sainz a decent each-way punt to finish in the top three in the opening gambit of the weekend.
Fastest Qualifier and Win Race – Max Verstappen
It looks likely to be Red Bull v Ferrari for the top spot on the grid – a similar theme to last season – after Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were quickest in testing, although they set their best times using the C4 tyre which is unavailable this weekend.
Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen were the fastest on the C3 compound – the soft tyre in Bahrain – and the Dutchman, who claimed 12 out of 22 pole positions in 2023, is fancied to step things up a few gears on Friday and lay down an early marker in qualifying.
On the final day of testing, Verstappen potentially let the cat out of the bag about the RB20’s ability to keep its tyres in top shape and that’s a worrying sign for the rest of the field who are, no doubt, hoping that the constructors’ champions’ brave decision to evolve their car concept might backfire.
Verstappen achieved the Fastest Qualifier and Win Race double in 2023 and I’d be surprised if he cannot repeat the feat.
#WhatOddsPaddy – Ferrari to Have the Fastest Lap
Incredibly, Ferrari failed to record a Fastest Lap in 2023 but the potential dynamics of this race could open the door for Charles Leclerc or Carlos Sainz to be in a position to snatch the bonus point.
Sergio Perez kept within a pit-stop distance of Max Verstappen in last year’s renewal and a solid pre-season testing for the Mexican suggests he could keep his team-mate honest out front.
If Ferrari make good on their potential as the second-best team on the grid then it’s not difficult to envisage a scenario where Leclerc and Sainz are clear of the chasing pack in third and fourth on track and with enough time for one of the drivers to slap on a fresh pair of softs for the final lap.
Bahrain Grand Prix Tips:
1st Practice Session – Carlos Sainz (E/W)
Fastest Qualifier and Win Race – Max Verstappen
#WhatOddsPaddy – Ferrari to Have the Fastest Lap
*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
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