Bahrain Grand Prix Tips
Points Finish – George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas & Zhou Guanyu
Fastest Qualifier/Race Winner Double – Max Verstappen
Fastest Lap – Charles Leclerc
It’s lights out and away we go for the 2023 Formula 1 season!
The new regulations looked set to give us a thrilling battle between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc last year, but the Red Bull superstar drove clear of his Ferrari rival to seal the title with four races left on the schedule.
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The Dutchman heads into the new campaign bidding to become just the fifth man in history to win the Drivers’ Championship three years in a row – and he begins his title charge at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
It was a clean sweep in 2022 for Red Bull as they trounced Ferrari and Mercedes to win the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 2013.
Bahrain Grand Prix
Qualifying: Saturday 3pm
Race: Sunday 3pm
TV: Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports F1
The three days of pre-season testing suggest the Milton Keynes-based team is set to dominate proceedings once again, but the other nine could have plenty more to show in the first race of the season…
To celebrate the start of the new season Paddy’s giving you a free bet up to the value of £/€5 when you bet on a same podium multi, which applies to your first pre-race acca on Podium Finish, Top 6 Finish and Points Finish markets.
Points Finish – George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas & Zhou Guanyu
George Russell was a consistent scorer in his first season at Mercedes. Despite the Silver Arrows enduring a challenging three days of testing last month, he should comfortably finish in the points.
Aston Martin could be the dark horses in 2023 and Fernando Alonso caught the eye with his new team in pre-season. The veteran Spaniard has a cracking Bahrain Grand Prix record including three victories and eight points finishes from 15 starts at the track.
Valtteri Bottas was another decent performer in pre-season testing and the Finn scored a creditable sixth-place finish on his Alfa Romeo debut in this race last year. The Ferrari-powered team have their eyes on an upper-midfield challenge this term so points will be the order of the day.
The wildcard pick for our Points Finish acca is Bottas’ team-mate Zhou Guanyu, who was 10th on his F1 debut in this race last year. The Chinese driver went on to score just twice more in his maiden season but he performed better than the bare results suggest as he regularly hit the post and was plagued by retirements. Alfa Romeo will probably be battling with Alpine for fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship so Guanyu could squeeze into the top 10 here.
*A Points Finish Acca with these four bets pays at approximately 5/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP.
Fastest Qualifier/Race Winner Double – Max Verstappen
Leclerc claimed pole position at last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix, but Ferrari had the upper hand on Red Bull in qualification during the first half of last season before Verstappen emphatically turned the tables after the summer break.
If pre-season testing is anything to go by, it looks like Red Bull have taken the momentum from the second half of last term into the new campaign as Verstappen and Sergio Perez topped the timesheets on two of the three days of practice.
The world champion was the best over one lap in 2022 and will want to hit the ground running with a statement performance in the first qualifying session of the new year.
Verstappen is fancied to convert the pole position into the top step of the podium as he was not short on race pace last season, taking the chequered flag in 15 of the 22 races on the calendar.
Incredibly, Verstappen has never won the Bahrain Grand Prix – falling agonisingly short in 2021 – but it looks like that will be ticked off the list by the end of the weekend.
Fastest Lap – Charles Leclerc
Leclerc would have been closer to Verstappen in last season’s Drivers’ Championship had the Ferrari pit wall not made a whole host of crazy calls that scuppered his chances.
Frédéric Vasseur has replaced Mattia Binotto as the Scuderia team principal and an improved strategy should ensure Leclerc isn’t trying to compete for the world title with one hand behind his back.
If the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Perez pull a pit stop clear at the front towards the end of the race with Leclerc comfortably in third, then it would be far from surprising if Ferrari pull him in for a fresh set of softs to bank the fastest lap point and lessen any losses in the title race to Verstappen.
Bahrain Grand Prix Tips
Points Finish – George Russell, Fernando Alonso, Valtteri Bottas & Zhou Guanyu
Fastest Qualifier/Race Winner Double – Max Verstappen
Fastest Lap – Charles Leclerc
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