The Bahrain Grand Prix: Sakhir Pre-Qualifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The Bahrain Grand Prix

There's been a lot of talk about the Pirelli tyres so far this season and some criticism of the fact that the current tyres don't allow the drivers to push 100% for the entire race, and that somehow that devalues the racing.  However, at the Chinese Grand Prix the top five places were Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel and Button ... all former world champions.

This season the opening three Grand Prix have been won by Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.  I think it's fair to say that those victories owed more to the fact that Raikkonen, Vettel and Alonso are all brilliant drivers, rather than any random lottery caused by the tyres.  You're never going to produce a tyre which keeps everyone on the grid happy, but the results so far this season would suggest that whatever the tyres, the cream will always rise to the top.

Anyway, onto my pre-qualifying tips for the Bahrain Grand Prix...

Race Winner:
10 points eachway* (20 points total) on Lewis Hamilton at 11.0 (Price Boost)
Mercedes and Hamilton in particular have been close but not quite there all season.  A race victory in Bahrain might just be beyond them just yet, but with two podiums behind him Lewis nevertheless looks a decent eachway bet.

* SkyBet pay 1/5 the odds for first 3 places.

Brazilian Grand Prix: Interlagos Pre-Quaifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The Brazilian Grand Prix

Every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and place a few hypothetical bets using the odds available from SkyBet.com and see how I do.  In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, I'll make some tips before and after qualifying and see which set of tips do best.

I would add a note of caution to keep an eye on the weather forecast for Sunday's race, as a wet race will of course add a degree of unpredictability to things making all betting markets harder to predict.  Anyway, here are my pre-qualifying tips...

Race Winner:
10 points on Lewis Hamilton at 3.75
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel looked to be the class of the field in the US, so you have to fancy them to contest things again in Brazil.  Lewis just had the edge on Sunday and with Vettel being focussed on the championship he'll be primarily concerned with finishing ahead of Alonso and therefore unlikely to want to take too many risks battling for the lead.  I'm therefore edging slightly towards Lewis Hamilton at odds of 3.75.

To Finish In The Points (Top Ten Finish):
20 points on Daniel Ricciardo at 3.5
A poor qualifying session hindered his chances at the US Grand Prix, but Ricciardo has nevertheless managed 5 top ten finishes from the last 8 Grand Prix and therefore looks decent value for a points scoring finish at Interlagos at odds of 3.5.

The United States Grand Prix: Austin Pre-Qualifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The United States Grand Prix

Every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and place a few hypothetical bets using the odds available from SkyBet.com and see how I do.  In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, I'll make some tips before and after qualifying and see which set of tips do best. 

To Finish In The Points (Top Ten Finish):
20 points on Daniel Ricciardo at 5.0
Daniel Ricciardo has now sneaked into the lower end of the top ten at 5 of the last 7 Grand Prix and yet the bookies still continue to rate him as an outsider in this market.  His odds to finish in the points at the United States Grand Prix this weekend are 5.0, so at that price he seems worth a punt.

To Qualify On The Front Row:
20 points on Mark Webber to Qualify On The Front Row at 1.91
Mark Webber has qualified on the front row at each of the last four Grand Prix, so this looks like another decent bet.