Date: 04/06/2023
Venue: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Red Bull have dominated every race on the track this year and are backed to again excel in the pit lane as well in our Spanish Grand Prix predictions.
The Milton Keynes-based outfit had the fastest pit stop in Monaco last weekend when Sergio Perez was stationary for just 2.24 seconds.
They also posted the third-quickest turnaround with Max Verstappen at 2.43 and have topped the charts in half of the six races so far.
Admittedly, Ferrari are putting up a good fight in this category, also being fastest three times and securing second place in Monaco.
However, Red Bull are now on a roll with first place in three of the last four contests, so a bwin price boost of 7/4 for them to be swiftest again in Barcelona appeals from the Spanish Grand Prix odds.
With regards the race itself, few will be looking to oppose Verstappen following his latest success in Monte Carlo, even at the prohibitive price of 2/5.
Red Bull have now won 15 of the last 16 grands prix, with Verstappen remaining on course to race to his third world title in as many years.
That was a fourth win of the year for the flying Dutchman and a 39th career victory, eclipsing the tally Sebastian Vettel managed for the team.
“If you have a good car, you can break these numbers,” said Verstappen, who extended his championship lead to 39 points.
“I never thought I would be in this position in my career. Growing up, I wanted to be a Formula One driver and I am now winning these races. It is amazing and better than I could have ever imagined.”
Teammate Perez will be determined to bounce back from a poor showing in Monaco, where a mistake in qualifying predictably proved costly and he could only finish 16th.
The Mexican is 7/2 to respond with a win and declared: “I only want to move on from this race because it was a terrible weekend.
“I still have hope in the championship, but I know I cannot afford another zero in a race, so I really hope I can be back to my normal level in Barcelona.
“I need to be perfect in the next few races, I need to get victories and get them soon. I’m happy we are racing again in a few days.”
Fernando Alonso achieved his best result of 2023 when runner-up last weekend, building on previous form figures of 3-3-4-3.
The 41-year-old actually claimed his last race win at this track a decade ago and is 8/1 to delight the home fans again.
Mercedes earned good points in Monaco for finishing fourth and fifth but Toto Wolff warned not to expect too much from their latest upgrade just yet.
He said: “We will collect more data in Barcelona, but I don’t expect us to clear Red Bull, Ferrari and Aston Martin there either.
“It is about understanding what does this car do now and how do we set it up?
“We are good at grinding away. Last year, the package was terrible at the beginning of the season, and we won a race in Interlagos (at the penultimate round) so we will get there.”
Lewis Hamilton can be backed at 22/1 to secure a record seventh Spanish Grand Prix success, with George Russell available at 28/1.
We were left looking foolish for giving Charles Leclerc a chance on home turf in Monaco and he is 22/1 here after only being sixth last weekend.
Past Spanish GP winners
2022 Verstappen (Red Bull), Perez, Russell
2021 Hamilton (Mercedes), Verstappen, Bottas
2020 Hamilton (Mercedes), Verstappen, Bottas
2019 Hamilton (Mercedes), Bottas, Verstappen
2018 Hamilton (Mercedes), Bottas, Verstappen
2017 Hamilton (Mercedes), Vettel, Bottas
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