The F1 returns after its first race back since the summer break for race number 16 of the season in the Netherlands, where Max Verstappen looks to make it back-to-back wins on this track once again..
Last time out in Belgium it was the Dutch driver who took home the win once again after starting in 14th place, making it nine wins for the season so far and extending his lead at the top of the Driver’s Championship for 2022.
We’ll take a look ahead to the next race, in Verstappen’s homeland, and see if we can provide you with some extra cash for the rest of the summer with our best free-betting picks.
| Dutch Grand Prix |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -175 | -175 |
| Charles Leclerc | +350 | +350 |
| Carlos Sainz | +900 | +900 |
| Sergio Perez | +1000 | +1000 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1200 | +1200 |
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There is no doubt that Verstappen has been the best Formula 1 driver in the world this year. The Red Bull star has won nine of the 14 races in 2022 and claimed ten podium finishes in the last 11 races, showing his true dominance on the track.
Verstappen finds himself miles clear atop the F1 World Drivers’ Championship standings thanks to his unrivaled performances but will want to continue that dominance with another win here.
Last season, Verstappen won ten of the 22 races on his way to clinching his maiden title, and he looks set to smash past that with another seven races to go.
With the home crowd behind him and little pressure when it comes to defending his crown, he’s the clear favorite to make it to back-to-back Championships, and as an odds-on favorite for this race, it only makes sense. He should get it done once again barring any unforeseen troubles.
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In all honesty, it is difficult to predict how Charles Leclerc will fare here because his current season has been so topsy turvy.
If the 24-year-old performs to the best of his ability and Ferrari picks the right strategy, he could certainly take the chequered flag if things fall his way. But if he makes another mistake or the team lets him down once again, he will struggle to compete for P1 and potentially even the podium. The latter seems to be the most likely.
Leclerc won two of the first three races this year, and on top of that, he notched a couple of P2 finishes across the opening five outings. But with two DNFs in the next five, he failed to secure a single podium in any of those races.
The Monegasque won the Austrian Grand Prix in July, but the good times didn’t last long. A fortnight later, Leclerc crashed out of the French GP while leading the race – adding another error to his catalog and gifting Verstappen the win.
Having struggled for consistency throughout the season, he will be desperate to get back to winning ways but after a sixth placed finish in Belgium last week the chances of him toppling the hometown hero are very slim.
Sainz is one of only four drivers to have tasted victory this year. The Ferrari driver won July’s British Grand Prix, taking his 2022 podium tally to six. But he’s had a rough season outside of that lone success, although he made it seven podiums with a third place finish last week.
In addition to his P1, Sainz has registered three P2s and three P3s this season however he has had numerous struggles too and he has also recorded four DNFs.
No driver has failed to finish more F1 races than Sainz, making him a risky Dutch GP pick and realistically, Ferrari are likely to favor getting Leclerc a win if they can, so it’s probably one to avoid.
It is no secret that Hamilton made a below-par start to the season. After finishing third in the opening race, the seven-time champion failed to achieve a podium across the next seven races – finishing as low as P13 during that period.
However, Hamilton and Mercedes upped their game before the break. Following three successive third-place finishes in Canada, Britain, and Austria, the Englishman secured back-to-back P2 finishes in France and Hungary.
It’s fair to say that the summer break came at the wrong time for Hamilton and Mercedes. The return race in Belgium saw Hamilton crash out in the first lap, but they’ll be hopeful that was just a blip and they can get back to their good pre-break form.
The only time he raced here was last year when he finished as the runner-up behind Verstappen, but he did get the fastest lap on the day and will be confident of doing similar this time around. Toppling him for the winning spot will be tough, but if anyone can cause Verstappen misery on his homecoming it’s his old rival Lewis.
He does have history against him, with no driver ever winning a race beyond their 300th F1 appearance, but if anyone can topple that statistic, it’s the man who will be in the argument for greatest of all time when his career is done so that it could be worth a flutter.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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