For this week’s Chinese GP 2017 F1 Betting Tips we’ll analyse how Ferrari were able to get one over Mercedes in Australia and give you our top tip for which drivers could shine in Shanghai.
Sebastian Vettel’s win in Melbourne and the first time since 2013 that Mercedes have not lead the championship after the first race is a gigantic achievement for the team from Maranello and the sport.
Ferrari steal the show in Oz
The two key points to take away from Australia was that not only did Vettel split the two Mercedes in qualifying, but the German was able to keep-up with Hamilton during the race and that the Pirreli’s were not subject to tyre degradation being behind Lewis.
The pressure Vettel put on Hamilton resulted in bad management of the Brit’s tyres and meant Lewis had to come in early for a new set. This put Hamilton behind Max Verstappen who stayed out much longer than Mercedes had anticipated. This gave Vettel a chance to extend the gap before the Ferrari pitted and put the German ahead of Hamilton after the pit-stop.
Lowe’s departure could already have impacted the silver arrows, as Mercedes we’re unable to manage their tyres and had the wrong strategy for both drivers.
It was more Mercedes losing the race than Ferrari winning. But that’s not to take away Ferrari’s achievements during the winter to produce a car that’s on a par with Merc, it gives us the prospect of a great showdown between the two top teams for the rest of the season.
Bottas shows potential for Championship run
We had some concerns on how whether Bottas would be able to keep up with Lewis’s pace throughout the weekend. But the Fin had analysed Hamilton’s telemetry during Friday practice and improved in areas where he was losing ground to be a few tenths behind Ham and stayed within a few seconds as he cross the line. So a real promising start for Bottas in his first race for Mercedes.
Unfortunately Red Bull appear to be way off the pace of the front runners. Even though Verstappen was able to fend off Hamilton before darting into the pits he was clearly holding Lewis back and unable to stretch a gap. Red Bull have always had a competitive development package during the season but the problem is likely to be a lack of performance from the Renault engine which could be a tougher nut to crack during the season.
Chinese GP 2017 F1 Betting Tips
The weather for the Chinese GP in Shanghai can be very mixed and change dramatically in a short space of time. Cloud cover is expected for qualifying with 10% chance of rain, but there’s a 99% chance of rain during the race so this could mix things up substantially.
Who’s our pick for China?
Don’t be surprised to see Mercedes make a come-back in this race, but I’m going to put my neck on the line and say that Bottas will take the chequered flag. But Verstappen has shown in the past just what he can do in the wet and could be just as fearless in Shanghai so expect to see him on the podium if Hamilton and Ferrari get their strategies wrong during the race.
BetOTG Chinese GP F1 Betting Predictions
1. Valtteri Bottas
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Max Verstappen