The Austrian Grand Prix saw the first three drivers separated by less than two seconds and another exciting race is in store as the teams head to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
George Russell won the race in Spielberg for Mercedes, with Max Verstappen in an upgraded Red Bull close behind and World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli in third.
The Silver Arrows have now won seven of this season's eight races and the young Italian driver has a 40-point advantage in the standings with two-thirds of the season remaining.
Neither Mercedes driver has won at Silverstone before, though, as Antonelli retired after a collision on his first visit to the track last season, while Russell has never finished better than fifth in his home race.
British Grand Prix betting picks and predictions
Kimi Antonelli to win (+163)
Antonelli has gone two races without a win for the first time this season, but he is well worth backing to end his brief dry spell with a first victory in the British Grand Prix.
The F1 prodigy is hardly out of form as he was battling for the lead when suffering an engine failure in the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and he was only 1.986 seconds behind Russell and closing fast on the front two at the end of the race in Austria.
With five wins from the first eight races this season, Antonelli has shown he is a much stronger performer than he was at this stage in his rookie season.
Therefore, the fact that he qualified only seventh in an inferior Mercedes last season and failed to finish after a collision with fellow first-season driver Isack Hadjar is not a major concern.
Indeed, Silverstone is a track that should suit the fearless youngster and the pace-setting Mercedes should be seen to good effect at the high-speed circuit, where energy management will be a key factor as there are few slow corners or hard-braking areas for drivers to recharge their batteries.
Russell's confidence should be high after his first win since the opening race in Australia, but he was somewhat fortunate to get pole in Austria.
He took pole despite running through a sector with yellow flags waving after Verstappen crashed, while Antonelli aborted his final lap for the same incident.
The British driver would relish a first win in his home race, but he has an uninspiring record at the track which hosted the first F1 race in 1950, with form of 14-12-18-12-DNF-5-DNF-10.
Max Verstappen to finish 3rd (+333)
Red Bull unveiled some upgrades to their car at their home race in Austria and they bore fruit, with Verstappen challenging for the win and claiming only his second podium finish of the season.
That was an impressive result considering the major setback he had in qualifying when a high-speed crash left him only fifth on the grid.
His teammate Hadjar was not quite as comfortable in the car but still managed to finish sixth after starting eighth on the grid and that helps to confirm that the progress Red Bull have made is genuine.
Verstappen won the British Grand Prix for the first time in 2023, and has been second and fifth at Silverstone in the last two seasons.
He may struggle to match the Mercedes duo this weekend, but with Ferrari taking a backward step in last week's race and McLaren not quite on the outright pace at the moment, the opportunity is there for him to claim another podium finish.
Backing the Dutch driver to finish exactly third looks like a decent value wager.
Arvid Lindblad points finish (-110)
British rookie driver Arvid Lindblad will be racing in his home Grand Prix for the first time this week and he looks a good bet to finish in the points.
The Racing Bulls driver has had three successive top-10 finishes, with seventh place in Monaco, ninth in Barcelona and 10th in Austria, and that solid run should continue at Silverstone.
Lindblad has some experience of driving the track in an F1 car as he took part in the first practice session there last season, while he won both the sprint race and the feature race there in his Formula 3 campaign.
British Grand Prix odds
Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) | +163 |
George Russell (Mercedes) | +210 |
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) | +500 |
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) | +500 |
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) | +1200 |
Lando Norris (McLaren) | +2000 |
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) | +2800 |
Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) | +10000 |
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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.
