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.
A brief trip to North America is next on the agenda for the Formula 1 calendar before we are thrown head-first into a run of six-successive European Grands Prix.
As is so often the case these days, Max Verstappen heads to Montreal as the race winner of both last year’s Canadian Grand Prix and is coming off the back of another dominant performance in Spain a couple of weeks ago.
He is now 53 points ahead of teammate Sergio Perez in the World Drivers’ Championship, but has thrown just a sprinkling of doubt on his chances this weekend with an uncharacteristically slow FP2 session on Friday.
There is an 80% chance of rain during the qualifying session on Saturday and, with the rainfall expected to begin in the morning, the likelihood is that the session will start with a wet track, while the race itself on Sunday is now forecast dry.
All prices below are quoted with SkyBet, where new customers can claim up to £40 in free bets to use on this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix!
Canadian Grand Prix track guide
Debut season – 1978
Track length – 4.36km
Number of turns – 14
Most wins – Michael Schumacher & Lewis Hamilton (7)
Most poles – Michael Schumacher & Lewis Hamilton (6)
2022 winner – Max Verstappen
Situated on a man-made island just a short distance from Montreal, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve has been almost ever-present on the Formula 1 calendar since its debut in 1978.
The circuit is named after local hero Gilles Villeneuve, who won the first Grand Prix here and is characterised by street circuit-esque walls sitting very close to the track.
A unceasing barrage of corners in Sectors 1 and 2 make overtaking difficult in that portion of the track before the flowing chicanes give way to a tight hairpin to start Sector 3.
A long flat-out section follows the hairpin and offers the best overtaking opportunity before the drivers come to the final chicane and the infamous Wall of Champions, with a short pit-straight ending the lap.
Canadian Grand Prix predictions & betting tips
Verstappen to win by 10+ seconds at 1/1
Don’t be fooled by Red Bull’s perceived underperformance in FP2. Their qualifying runs were completed before the track had evolved and their relatively low top-speed of 326km/h suggests a lower engine mode was being run.
Their competitors may have started bringing the upgrades to start closing the gaping performance chasm between the cars but there is a very long way to go before the teams are on equal footing.
Verstappen won by 24 seconds in Spain, meaning he has now won by at least ten seconds in three races this season, and he was on track for another in Australia before a late red flag.
The race winner has finished at least 20 seconds ahead of the closest non-Red Bull car in five of the seven Grands Prix so far and Verstappen’s skill in wet-weather conditions points towards a good qualifying performance, too.
Lewis Hamilton to finish on the podium at 6/5
Coming off the back of their first double-podium of the season in Spain, Mercedes topped the timing charts in Friday’s FP2 session and both Silver Arrows were over a tenth-of-a-second quicker than third-placed Carlos Sainz.
That was Hamilton’s second podium of the season and, despite the team playing down the huge upgrade package they brought to Monaco, their redesign certainly seems to be paying dividends.
Not only that, but Hamilton loves the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. He is the joint-most successful driver here with seven wins and the seven-time world champion excels in wet conditions, pointing towards a strong qualifying performance which should put him in good stead for the race on Sunday.
Alonso, Hamilton & Verstappen podium at 5/1
Verstappen and Hamilton’s chances of sharing the podium for a third time this season have already been discussed and Fernando Alonso would make for an excellent addition to that duo.
The Spaniard has stood on the podium five times already this season and Aston Martin have brought their upgrade package to Montreal.
While the effects of the upgrades are largely unknown right now, Alonso did split the two Ferrari drivers to put in the fourth-fastest time in FP2 and when it comes to race pace the Scuderia have been some way behind the Aston Martin’s this season.
Add in Alonso’s skill in the wet and we should see him go well in qualifying and transfer that pace to Sunday.
Verstappen podium, Hamilton, Leclerc, Russell & Sainz points finish at 6/4
Verstappen is a shoo-in for the podium and seeing both Mercedes and Ferrari drivers in the points would not come as a surprise to many.
In fact, this exact bet has landed in four of the seven Grands Prix this season and was close to landing last weekend, with Charles Leclerc recovering from a pit-lane start to finish just one position outside the points.
All five of these drivers were in the top ten in FP2 and they can translate that to points on the board on Sunday.
Lance Stroll to finish in the top 6 at 11/8
While many look towards the upper echelon of drivers when discussing wet-weather specialists, Lance Stroll flies under the radar a bit.
Indeed, the Canadian has put in a number of stunning performances in the wet and actually seems to drive better in the wet than the dry, so a solid qualifying is on the cards in his upgraded Aston Martin.
The 24-year-old has only managed to better his esteemed teammate once this season – last weekend in Spain – but he has achieved three top-six finishes and will have the backing of the home crowd to spur him on.
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