Our F1 scribe previews the 2019 French Grand Prix which is being raced on Sunday the 27th of October.
Photo Copyright Steve Haag Sport – Hollywoodbets
We’ve just headed into the final stretch of the season with four races remaining but the Constructors’ title has already been sewn up with Mercedes claiming their sixth successive title. They can also sow up the Drivers’ Championship in Mexico this weekend but the cards would have to fall heavily in their favour, and it’s more likely to be decided at next week’s United States Grand Prix.
Mexican Grand Prix
Sunday 27 October
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
To Win Grand Prix Outright
Charles LeClerc 7/4
Lewis Hamilton 26/10
Sebastian Vettel 33/10
Max Verstappen 4/1
Valterri Bottas 7/2
Alexander Albion 50/1
Carlos Sainz 1000/1
Previous Race
It took an extra day but we managed to get a race out in Japan with Typhoon Hagibis subsiding enough to allow racing to go ahead on the Monday.
As was expected, Mercedes enjoyed a solid race out at the Suzuka Circuit with Valterri Bottas taking top honours and Lewis Hamilton finishing third.
Sandwiched between the Silver Arrows duo was the Ferrari of Sebastian Vettel, while his teammate Charles LeClerc finished in sixth.
The remainder of the ‘Top 6’ was made up of Alexander Albion (fourth) and Charles LeClerc (fifth), while the rest of the top ten featured Daniel Ricciardo (seventh), Pierre Gasly (eighth), Nico Hulkenberg (ninth) and Lance Stroll (Tenth).
Track
Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez – named after racing drivers and brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez – is packed with low-speed corners which will drastically test the field’s brake-by-wire systems. The track does have one of the longest straights on the calendar, however, so the drivers won’t just be plodding around corners for the entirety of the race.
The 4.304-kilometre long track is situated in a public park, named the Magdalena Sports City, in the South East of the Mexican capital. The circuit contains seventeen turns, with the most notorious of these being the high-speed corner which goes by the name of the “Peraltada”. This corner leads onto the start-finish line, and while it is a real challenge, it’s also a corner the drivers thoroughly enjoy.
The start-finish straight is 1.2 kilometres long and because of the high-speed exit from the Peraltada corner, drivers get a slingshot into it. This combined with the high altitude means that we will see some blistering sector times being set here.
Last yar’s race was won by Max Verstappen with Sebastian Vettel finishing second, Kimi Raikkonen third and Lewis Hamilton fourth.
In terms of this weekend’s weather, there’s a fair bit of rain being predicted for Saturday’s qualifying sessions while we could get a few showers on Sunday.
Value Bet
Podium Finish – Charles LeClerc – No @ 11/4
I have a sneaky suspicion this race will be dominated by Mercedes and Max Verstappen will also be on the podium. As such, there’s great value on LeClerc to miss out on a ‘Top 3’ finish at a solid price of 11/4.
To Win Race Outright
Max Verstappen 4/1
The Red Bull man will be looking for a hattrick of Mexican Grand Prix this weekend having won the 2017 and 2018 editions. He really does love the track and is certainly worth a moderate punt at 4/1.
