2018 British Grand Prix Betting Preview

The British Grand Prix is set for July 8 at Silverstone, finishing a trio of races that started in France before heading to Austria and now heading up to Northamptonshire, where the northernmost Grand Prix is ready for this weekend. The track is a former airfield used during World War II and has gone through a series of changes over the years, going from one of the fastest GP tracks to one that has its own curves. The current layout has been in place since 2010 and features fast corners and a surface that wears on tires. The tread depth faces its third and final reduction of the season, adding another strategic wrinkle to this race. Take a look at our Formula 1 betting preview for what promises to be a warm day in England.

2018 British Grand Prix Betting Preview

Putting the hurt of the #AustrianGP behind us! 👊 Full focus on this weekend! It’s #BritishGP Race Week! 🇬🇧 And they don’t come much bigger than this… pic.twitter.com/GyoNAeVg1A

— Mercedes-AMG F1 (@MercedesAMGF1) July 3, 2018

Contender Odds

• Lewis Hamilton +105
• Sebastian Vettel +375
• Valtteri Bottas +575
• Max Verstappen +575
• Daniel Ricciardo +1100
• Kimi Raikkonen +1300
• Field +5000

Team Odds

• Mercedes -170
• Ferrari +265
• Red Bull +425
• Renault +25000
• Field +25000

Lewis Hamilton looks to bounce back from a dreadful race in Austria last week. He led for Mercedes as the race got underway, but he made a strategic mistake that put him in the back, and then he had a series of tire problems and lost fuel pressure, and was not able even to finish the race. He fell behind Sebastian Vettel in the Drivers’ Championship point series, although since Vettel only finished third in Austria, he only leads Hamilton by a single point. Hamilton has to be considered the favorite, though, because he has won here four years in a row coming in, and he has won five British Grand Prix championships overall. Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were the ones who led the way in qualifying in Austria, which is why they got to start in the front row and hold the early lead, so there are positive signs from that debacle. Also, things looked solid for Mercedes until the errors in strategy and then the engine problems. So if you’re looking to pull the plug on Hamilton from a betting perspective, I would definitely tap the brakes (no pun intended, of course). An additional factor to consider here is the possibility of grid penalties for Mercedes after both Hamilton and Bottas saw their cars fail. If the mechanics have to break into the sealed areas of the car that would lead to penalties, then that could make the job harder for the duo. That question has not yet been answered, as of this writing. The fact that both drivers retired from the Austrian race meant that Mercedes would not face a penalty for adding new gearboxes. Hamilton can also switch out all six different power unit components one more time without a penalty. Bottas has used his last allocated control electronics and energy store changes and will face a penalty if his car needs new ones. It is unlikely that the team would face similar meltdowns this week — the last time Mercedes had two cars retire from a race for technical reasons was the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix. Besides Hamilton to win, I would also look at Daniel Ricciardo to crack the top five if not finish on the podium. He finished behind teammate Max Verstappen in Austria, but Ricciardo has let his consistency bring Red Bull points just about every time out. He has a couple of wins this year, and he has top-six finishes in all six races where he has finished. So as long as his car doesn’t have technical problems, there’s no reason to see him not finishing at least this well this week. Verstappen extended an interesting streak  with his win in Austria, as he has won four times during his career despite having won no pole positions in qualifying.