Make that seven race winners from 13 events in the 2024 Formula 1 season, will it be eight as we enter the final race before the midyear break at the historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Spa’s hilly circuit is the longest the drivers will deal with as they tackle this challenging course.
For the first time this season Max Verstappen will not head into the weekend as the outright favourite to win the race, he is on the second line of betting with Oscar Piastri both looking up at Lando Norris.
We’ve done our race sims, gone through the team orders and found our best bets for Spa below so read on to see who we are backing.
Track Stats
- Direction: Clockwise
- Lap Distance: 7.004km
- Total Laps: 44
- Race Distance: 308.052km
- Lap Record: 1:46.286 (Valtteri Bottas, MER, 2018)
- 2023 Podium: Max Verstappen (RBR), Sergio Perez (RBR), Charles Leclerc (FER)
- Most Event Wins: Michael Schumacher (1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002)
Race Winner
It really is a wide open field this weekend with any number of drivers capable of winning.
Perhaps Max Verstappen bounces back from a couple of rough performances and extends his lead at the top of the championship, but that Red Bull just doesn’t seem to have the pace anymore.
Lando Norris should be the deserved favourite and is worth backing at even money, but there is some value to be had with a double dip here.
Charles Leclerc had his best finish since his win in Monaco last week and the Ferrari’s look like they might be gaining some traction.
While Carlos Sainz does not have the best relationship with the Spa track, he has been quite consistent over his last four races and could also be a chance of winning here.
Lando Norris Race Winner @ $2.00
Winning Car: Ferrari @ $15.00
Winning Margin
It was a winning play last week so let’s repeat the formula.
Most races have been decided by only a few seconds over the last couple of months and with the tightly contested field, this is probably going to be another small margin of victory.
0-5.999 seconds @ $1.73
Podium Finish
Two plays stand out in the podium finish market as well, with Leclerc the natural selection given the confidence in his chances of winning.
Then there is Lewis Hamilton who has three podiums in his last four starts, and is starting to look like a rejuvenated force on the grid.
The fact he is over even money and at a bigger price than his teammate is a massive surprise, but one well worth taking before the weekend.
Lewis Hamilton Podium Finish @ $2.50
Charles Leclerc Podium Finish @ $5.50
Points Finish
In the spirit of doubling down which seems to be the theme of this preview, let’s back both V-CARB drivers to finish in the points given on their day, they are both top ten performers.
Sergio Perez, Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll are no sure thing to finish in the points given their respective inconsistencies and the duo could be the best placed to pounce.
Tsunoda finished in the points in Hungary and were it not for a strategy error by his team, Riccardo probably would have wound up in the points as well.
Add in the desperation both drivers are undoubtedly motivated by, with the very real possibility they could take over for Perez on the top Red Bull team or wind up getting replaced by Kiwi phenom Liam Lawson during the break.
One of the V-CARB drivers has finished in the points in nine of the 13 races so far this season and that trend should continue and we might even see their first double points effort.
Yuki Tsunoda Points Finish @ $2.75
Daniel Ricciardo Points Finish @ $3.50
Classified Finishers
For those racing fans who love carnage, Spa has not really delivered over the last few years. 2023 and 2022 saw 18 finishers and there were 17 in the 2020 event, we won’t mention the 2021 debacle.
However with more than a few teams probably looking towards the midseason break, there may be a few more errors than normal, even in the forecasted dry conditions.
Add in the fact a few drivers are getting more than a bit hot under the collar (M. Verstappen for one) and there may be a couple of red mist moments.
Under 17.5 Classified Finishers @ $2.75