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The 2020 Styrian Grand Prix is the second race of the 2020 Formula One season and it will be held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria on July 12, 2020.
This is the first running of the race and it will be held in the same venue as last weekend’s 2020 Austrian Grand Prix. It is also the first time in the history of the F-1 championship that back to back races will be held in the same venue. The 2020 Formula One world championship season was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The season was set to begin last February but after the restrictions, it only took off last weekend.
In last week’s race, Valtteri Bottas crossed the finish line first, leading from start to finish, to win the first race of the delayed 2020 Formula One championship. Lewis Hamilton crossed the line second but was demoted to 4th after a penalty. Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris completed the podium finish.
Hamilton is chasing a 7th world title that would put him in a tie with the legendary Michael Schumacher’s record. However, the defending world champion will start the second race of the year 13 points behind his teammate. Despite that, Hamilton is still the betting favorite to win next Sunday’s race.
Here are the odds to win the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix. These odds were taken from MyBookie.ag as of 07/07/2020.
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | -125 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +250 |
| Max Verstappen | +300 |
| Alexander Albon | +2500 |
| Charles Leclerc | +4000 |
| Sebastian Vettel | +5000 |
| Sergio Perez | +6600 |
| Lando Norris | +6600 |
| Carlos Sainz | +6600 |
| Lance Stroll | +8000 |
Who Are the Favorites?
Lewis Hamilton is still the odds on favorite to win the second straight race at the Red Bull Ring. The six-time world champion and reigning Formula One world champion finished in a disappointing 4th place at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix last weekend after getting hit with several penalties. Hamilton was demoted from a second-place finish to 4th after nerfing Alexander Albon’s car 10 laps to go in the race. Despite that setback in the opening race of the season, Hamilton has an excellent track record at the Red Bull Ring. The Briton has six Top 5 finishes in seven races at Spielberg including a win in 2016. However, Hamilton has not finished in the podium since his victory here four years ago.
Valtteri Bottas opened the season in grand fashion as he took the first race of the championship for the second straight year. It can be recalled that Bottas won the 2019 Australian Grand Prix and recorded a podium finish in eight out of the first nine races of the year. Bottas finished third behind Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc in the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix but came back to win the 2020 installment of the race last weekend. Bottas has five Top 10 finishes in seven starts at the Red Bull Ring and has won there twice- in 2017 and 2020. He has also started at the pole in three out of his last four races at Spielberg.
Max Verstappen’s quest for a third straight Austrian Grand Prix fell in the drain after a mechanical failure forced him out of the race. Verstappen was third in the qualifying but after Lewis Hamilton was penalized for ignoring yellow flags in the qualifying last Saturday, it looked like Verstappen enhanced his chances of producing a hat trick in his team’s home race. But that did not happen. Despite that, the Red Bull ace is still third in the odds board as he looks to bounce back from that disappointing finish. Verstappen has been impressive at Red Bull’s home track as he has started in the Top 5 in his last four starts here and has finished with two wins in the last three installments of the Austrian Grand Prix.
Alexander Albon was having a fine race last weekend and was in third place chasing the two Mercedes drivers who were in the lead when Lewis Hamilton collided with his car and forced him to drop out of the race. The collision led to a five-second penalty that forced Hamilton to finish in 4th place despite crossing the finish line second. As for Albon, it was a winnable race that ended in disappointment. However, after qualifying in 4th place and a strong showing before the accident, the 24-year old from London is still among the betting favorites to figure in the second consecutive race at the Red Bull Ring.
Charles Leclerc has a late surge that pushed him to cross the line in third place and earn a runner-up finish after Hamilton’s five-second penalty. Ferrari’s Monegasque driver finished 2.7 seconds off Bottas after starting in 7th place. Leclerc won the pole position in 2019 but finished second to Max Verstappen. He was among the favorites to win last weekend but a subpar performance by Ferrari in the qualifying hurt his chances to win the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix. Leclerc won the Pole trophy last year and his back to back second-place finishes at the Austrian Grand Prix make him a favorite to figure in contention next weekend.
Who Wins?
There is no question that Lewis Hamilton will be out for vengeance this weekend. Hamilton was penalized before the start of the race for violations in qualifying. During the race proper, he also suffered a five-second penalty for crashing into Alexander Albon. Despite his struggles, he crossed the finish line second behind teammate Valtteri Botas and if he didn’t get penalized at the start, he could’ve challenged Bottas for the win. However, when you look at the Red Bull Ring, Hamilton doesn’t have a podium finish here since winning the 2016 Austrian Grand Prix.
On the other hand, Bottas has good value at plus money. This is the second straight year where he opened the season with a win and while you will argue that Hamilton was right along with him throughout last week’s race, there is no question that the Finn is out to prove that he isn’t just Hamilton’s sidekick. Bottas’s win was the 8th of his career and he is coming off 2019 where he finished second to Hamilton and won a career-high four races. Bottas is coming to his own and after a win at the same race track last weekend, he has to be in your race card.
Max Verstappen also has an excellent betting value at +300. The Red Bull ace has won two out of the last three races at the Red Bull Ring and his last four qualifying races here have produced results of 5,4,2, and 2. If his RB16 can avoid mechanical issues this weekend, there is no question that he will be a factor in the race.
When you talk about a longshot bet for this race, don’t forget to take a look at Lando Norris. The young British-Belgian driver made a late pass on Sergio Perez last weekend which enabled him to cross the finish line 4th and after Hamilton’s penalty, he was awarded 3rd place. That performance meant that McLaren began the season with a podium finish for the first time since 2014. Norris has raced twice at the Red Bull Ring. He started in 5th last year and 3rd this year and his average finish of 4.5 in two years are impressive.
Prediction: I am backing Lewis Hamilton as the safe bet in this race. However, the value bet is with Max Verstappen at +300. You can also choose to bet on both Bottas and Verstappen and have two of the Top 3 favorites on your side. If Bottas wins, you’ll have a $50 profit ($250 – $200) or if Max wins, you’ll earn a $100 income ($300 – $200).
