F1 2020: Spanish Grand Prix Preview

So after something of a shock result at Silverstone which saw Max Verstappen end Lewis Hamilton’s dominance of the track, we now head for sunny Catalunya for the sixth race of the season.

Will Hamilton reign supreme in Spain or will Verstappen who won at the Circuit Barcelona de Catalunya back in 2016 make it two wins on the trot?

Spanish Grand Prix
Sunday 18 August
Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya

To Win Race Outright

Lewis Hamilton 5/10
Max Verstappen 7/2

Valterri Bottas 4/1
Charles LeClerc 40/1
Sergio Perez 40/1
Lance Stroll 66/1


Previous Race

As touched upon in the intro, Lewis Hamilton was unable to make it four wins on the trot at Silverstone as Max Verstappen took full advantage of Mercedes’ tyre issues to claim his first win at Silverstone. Mercedes would have to settle for second (Hamilton) and third (Bottas) at what is essentially their home track.

Like the weekend prior, Charles LeClerc was by far the better of the two Ferrari drivers with the Frenchman finishing in eighth while Sebastian Vettel could only muster up a 12th place finish. LeClerc was joined in the top six by Alexander Albion (fifth) and Lance Stroll (sixth). 

The remainder of the top 10 featured quite a few household names with Niko Hulkenburg taking seventh, Esteban Ocon bringing his Renault home in eigth, Lando Norris taking ninth and Daniel Kvyatt claiming tenth. 

Track

The Circuit de Catalunya offers a great blend of high and low-speed corners which really tests the reliability of the faster cars on track. While these corners require dexterous braking, they don’t offer much room for overtaking as they are some of the narrowest on the calendar. As such, pole position will be a rather key factor here.

In terms of the weather for this weekend, we’ve got sunny skies being forecast and temperatures in the low-30’s (celsius). *This article was written on Tuesday the 11th of August so keep an eye out for any weather changes as the week progresses. 

Last year’s Spanish Grand Prix was won by Lewis Hamilton, with the ‘Brit followed across the line by teammate Valterri Bottas (second) and Max Verstappen (third). The fastest lap accolade also went to Hamilton while Bottas took pole.

Banker Bet


Podium Finish – Max Verstappen – Yes @ 5/10
So, I’ve scrapped the value bet this week and have gone for what I feel is an absolute banker in the form of a Max Verstappen podium finish.

The Red Bull man has finished third on the podium in Spain in the past two years and won here back in 2016.

He has been in good touch this season as well four podium finishes from five starts. The Red Bull man also comes into this one off a first-place finish at Silverstone. 

Lewis Hamilton @ 5/10

Hamilton has been a force to be reckoned with in Barcelona over the past few years winning the 2014 edition of the race as well as the 2017, 2018 and 2019 editions. 

While he does come into this one off the back of a shock loss on his home track, my money is firmly on the Mercedes ace returning to winning ways here.

Written by Darry Worthington for Hollywoodbets