Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
Formula 1 fans have barely had time to catch their breath after a sensational and dramatic British Grand Prix last weekend but now it is time to do it all again as the teams head to Red Bull Racing’s home Grand Prix in Austria.
The Austrian Grand Prix will be the second of three Sprint weekends in the 2022 season, meaning qualifying will take place on Friday after just one practice session before Saturday’s sprint race determines the final grid order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
With this weekend’s early start in mind, I’ll take you through all the tips you need for qualifying as well as a few early value bets on the Grand Prix itself.
Red Bull Ring track guide
With three long straights and just ten corners – the fewest of any Formula 1 track – The Red Bull Ring can be seen as a power-friendly circuit.
The flat-out section from Turn 1 to Turn 3 and the straight from Turn 3 and Turn 4 – both DRS zones – offer the majority of the overtaking opportunities.
The race start also tends to offer up plenty of drama, with a short run to Turn 1, which is a fast, uphill and blind right-hander.
Austrian Grand Prix qualifying predictions
Max Verstappen to be fastest qualifier at 6/4
Ferrari, and specifically Charles Leclerc, have been in a world of their own in qualifying this season but, while they may have the fastest car over a single lap, the Red Bull Ring’s layout heavily favours the home team’s car.
The three long straights and relatively few corners make straight-line speed important and Red Bull clearly have the advantage over Ferrari in this regard.
Not only that, but Verstappen has a fantastic record at the Red Bull Ring. He took pole at both the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix last year, which were held on consecutive weekends at the Red Bull Ring, and has won four of the last five Grands Prix held here.
Esteban Ocon to reach Qualifying 3 at 1/1
The Alpine has shown great straight-line speed at times this season and that should lend itself to the Red Bull Ring’s layout and the car is clearly capable of putting in some fantastic qualifying performances, although they are some way off in terms of race pace.
Esteban Ocon has made Q3 in four of the ten races this season but has come close in three more, while some of his poor qualifying performances can be explained away by mechanical issues.
The Alpine clearly has the pace, as shown by Fernando Alonso’s record of eight Q3 appearances, and if Ocon can avoid any car issues he has a great chance of making the top ten.
45/1 Austrian Grand Prix qualifying match bet accumulator
Alex Albon to beat Nicholas Latifi
Nicholas Latifi earned a career-best tenth in qualifying at Silverstone but that was just the second time in ten races this season that he has started ahead of teammate Alex Albon.
Charles Leclerc to beat Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz took pole at Silverstone and, while he has outqualified Charles Leclerc two races in a row now, the first of these was due to Leclerc taking a grid penalty.
Leclerc has started on the front row in eight of the ten races this season and prior to Canada was yet to be beaten by his teammate in qualifying this season.
Fernando Alonso to beat Esteban Ocon
Fernando Alonso is driving the Alpine to the limit in qualifying this season and has started in the top ten in eight out of ten races, while Ocon has only managed four Q3 appearances and has started behind the Spaniard in each of the last four Grands Prix.
Lewis Hamilton to beat George Russell
Lewis Hamilton has finally found his rhythm with the new Mercedes and has finished on the podium in his last two races. In qualifying he has beaten George Russell in half the races despite testing experimental setups and he has been at least three positions better off than Russel in the last two qualifying sessions.
Kevin Magnussen to beat Mick Schumacher
Haas secured a double-points finish last weekend but Kevin Magnussen still has a major edge over Mick Schumacher in qualifying. He has beaten his young teammate eight out of ten times this year, including each of the last five Grands Prix.
Lando Norris to beat Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo suffered yet another dismal session at Silverstone as he qualified 14th while Lando Norris was up in sixth. Norris has beaten his teammate in qualifying in eight of the ten races this season.
Max Verstappen to beat Sergio Perez
Max Verstappen has an excellent record at the Red Bull Ring and will be keen to get back on track after Silverstone. He has only been beaten by Sergio Perez in qualifying three times this season and has started on the front row on six occasions.
Pierre Gasly to beat Yuki Tsunoda
After a promising start Yuki Tsunoda seems to have drifted backwards a little and he was beaten by teammate Pierre Gasly in qualifying for the third race in a row last weekend. He has only outqualified Gasly three times this season and two of those were only by a single position.
Sebastian Vettel to beat Lance Stroll
Lance Stroll started last on the grid at Silverstone and the gulf between himself and Sebastian Vettel looks huge over one lap. Vettel has dragged the Aston Martin into Q3 three times in eight races, beating his teammate in seven of them, while Stroll has been in the bottom three in each of the last five qualifyings.
Guanyu Zhou to beat Valtteri Bottas
Guanyu Zhou has come on leaps and bounds over the last few weeks and will draw huge support after his dramatic crash last weekend. He beat Valtteri Bottas in qualifying for the third Grand Prix in a row last time out and is an outsider worth backing on Friday.
Austrian Grand Prix predictions
Max Verstappen to win at 10/11
Max Verstappen was robbed of what looked almost certain victory last weekend after picking up damage to his Red Bull but he has a great record at his team’s home circuit.
He has won four of the last five Formula 1 races held at the Red Bull Ring, including both iterations last year. Add that to his five races wins in the last seven Grands Prix and it is difficult to see anybody challenging him.
Charles Leclerc is the most obvious contender, but the Monegasque has been blighted by issues recently, many of which have been caused by Ferrari’s perennial strategic incompetence.
He is without a race win since Australia and hasn’t even managed a podium in his last five races. With a 40% chance of rain on Sunday afternoon, that opens the door for more strategy mishaps in Ferrari’s garage.
This, like most Grands Prix these days, is Verstappen’s to lose.
You can also back him to take pole, win the Grand Prix and set the fastest lap for the second time this season at 7/2.
Sebastian Vettel to finish in the points at 13/8
With just four appearances in Q3 this season, the Aston Martin clearly has some way to go when it comes to pace over a single lap but they have shown some impressive race pace recently and the Red Bull Ring offers plenty of overtaking opportunities.
Sebastian Vettel has finished in the top ten in three of the last four races and came 12th in the other, despite qualifying in 18th and 17th in the last two Grands Prix.
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