At new venues, the teams with the most advanced simulators often get the job done best – and Red Bull often come out on top. Max Verstappen has dominated this season, and the odds of another win for the Red Bull driver are 1/4 while conversely the odds of him failing to be a classified finisher are 6/1.
Verstappen is 1/2 to take pole and victory – Landon Norris is 22/1 and Lewis Hamilton 50/1 – and if the fastest lap is added into that, the odds go to 8/5 for Verstappen, with Norris and Charles Leclerc next up at an astonishing 150/1 and Hamilton down at 400/1.
At 6.201km, it is a long lap, second only to the 7.004km of Spa-Francorchamps and just a nudge longer than the 6.175km Jeddah Circuit in Saudi Arabia. The engines will be at full throttle for around 85% of the lap, which could cause problems. The odds of less than 14.5 finishers is 7/1, while the odds of all cars getting to the end is 8/1.
It is fast and frantic and the fastest lap could top the highest average speed of all, which is currently held by Monza in Italy. The odds of that fastest lap being set by Verstappen’s Red Bull are 8/13, while the Ferrari pair, Norris and Hamilton are all at 9/1.
The track all starts with the final corner, which is a relatively gentle curve taken at high speed. Drivers will need to turn in gently and late as they accelerate to gain as much speed as possible for the start of the lap.
Source: Autosport