Austrian Grand Prix: Picks, Predictions and Odds

For the first time this season neither McLaren finished on the podium in Canada last time out, but Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are favorites to bounce back in this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

The McLaren pair collided in the closing stages in Montreal, but they were only fighting over fourth place at the time. Championship leader Piastri was unaffected by the clash, but Norris's race ended then and there.

That leaves Piastri with a 22-point advantage heading to Austria, and Norris with work to do to claw his way back into the title fight.

George Russell took the victory for Mercedes in Canada, becoming the fourth different winner of the season as well as the fourth in as many races. World champion Max Verstappen followed him home with Russell's teenaged team-mate Kimi Antonelli claiming his first F1 podium in third.

Russell won last year in Spielberg, but it was an inherited victory after Norris and Verstappen had taken each other out while battling for the lead.

Austrian Grand Prix betting picks and predictions

Lando Norris to win (+225)

Despite scoring two wins and five second places in 10 races this season, Norris has left plenty of points on the table.

His Achilles heel has been qualifying, and we saw that again in Montreal where the Briton was unable to produce a clean lap when it mattered most. Norris looked to be in the fight for pole position in the earlier stages of qualifying but his best lap in Q3 was good enough only for seventh on the grid.

His pace in races has been just as strong as Piastri's, but poor qualifying has proved too much of a handicap, and Norris has yet to finish ahead of Piastri in a race where he started behind him.

That looked likely to end in Montreal as Norris clearly was much the quicker of the two McLarens, but his clumsy attempt at a pass ended his hopes.

Norris could be worth sticking with, though, especially as he is available at bigger odds than he usually is.

It is also worth noting that Norris has an excellent record at the Red Bull Ring, earning two of his first four career podium finishes at the track.

Norris looked set to win there last year, clearly quicker than Verstappen's leading Red Bull until the world champion put up a characteristically robust defense that took them both out of contention.

Austria is perhaps the easiest track to overtake on, though, so even if Norris fails to get it together in qualifying again, his race pace could still see him end up on the top step. 

Charles Leclerc podium finish (+240)

It has been largely a year to forget for Ferrari but they haven't given up on the season and Charles Leclerc could give them some cause for optimism in Austria.

The Monegasque driver was going for his third podium in a row last time out in Canada but a crash on the Friday cost him valuable practice time, while he was held up in qualifying and was furious to be starting only eighth.

He fought his way back up to fifth in the race but it could have been a stronger weekend.

Ferrrari displayed impressive straightline speed at Imola earlier in the season, and that will be a great asset at the Red Bull Ring. Leclerc is an attractive play to earn his fourth top-three finish in seven races.

Alex Albon top-six finish (+350)

Williams have made giant strides this season and while the last two races haven't gone at all smoothly for Alex Albon, he could be set for a strong result in Austria.

Albon failed to finish in Spain and Canada, suffering damage in Barcelona and developing a cooling issue in Montreal, but he has three fifth-places to his name this season.

Team-mate Carlos Sainz was unlucky to be eliminated early in qualifying in Canada, but dragged the car up from 16th on the grid to score a point, so the potential was clearly there for a lot better.

Thai-British driver Albon is a solid qualifier, yet has improved on his grid position in every race he has finished this year save for Japan, where he started and finished ninth.

The top six is a lofty ambition, but at the odds it is worth taking a chance. 

Austrian Grand Prix outright odds

Oscar Piastri	+162
Lando Norris	+225
Max Verstappen	+300
George Russell	+800
Charles Leclerc	+1600
Lewis Hamilton	+1255
Kimi Antonelli	+3300
Alex Albon	+25000
Carlos Sainz	+25000
Fernando Alonso	+25000

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.