The F1 returns for race number 19 of the season in Austin, Texas, USA where Max Verstappen enters the track for the first time since being made a two-time F1 world champion.
Last time out in Japan the Dutch driver claimed another victory in a shortened race due to poor weather, making it 12 wins for the season so far and being crowned champion for the second consecutive year.
We’ll take a look ahead to the next race and see if we can provide you with some extra cash for the rest of the summer with our best free F1 betting picks.
| F1 USA Grand Prix |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -250 | -250 |
| Charles Leclerc | +400 | +400 |
| Sergio Perez | +900 | +900 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1200 | +1200 |
| Carlos Sainz | +1600 | +1600 |
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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 12 of the 18 races in 2022 and claimed 13 podium finishes in the last 15 races, showing his true dominance on the track.
Verstappen finds himself miles clear atop the F1 World Drivers’ Championship standings thanks to his unrivalled performances but will want to continue that dominance with another win here. He has already been crowned champion, and will want to show why on one of the more entertaining tracks on the calendar.
Last season, Verstappen won ten of the 22 races on his way to clinching his maiden title, and he has already surpassed that total this season.
He’s got the best car, is the best driver, and has shown countless times that he can overcome adversity and it seems like an easy bet. It’s pretty decent value too considering recent odds, so he’s our F1 betting pick for the race.
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It’s not been the best of seasons for Leclerc, and he saw his final chances of becoming champion go up in smoke when he was overtaken on the line in Japan.
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 as it has been the story of the season.
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. He has finished second, second and third in each of the last three races behind Red Bull cars every time.
Having struggled for consistency throughout the season, it would be typical for him to win the race when there is no pressure on him anymore but Ferrari just aren’t as good as Red Bull this season so it’s a no from me.
Perez ended a run of just two podium finishes in his last eight races, with two DNF’s also in that run, by winning the Singapore GP in a race that was rather uneventful, to say the least and then sealed the title for Verstappen when he overtook Leclerc on the line in Japan last time out.
He is performing well and driving with his head on a swivel, making all the right decisions at the right times and being rewarded for it currently with sloppy decisions from his team and brilliant driving elsewhere.
Red Bull have a brilliant chance to claim victory in the USA to celebrate their title win, but if anyone is going to get that joy it’ll be the reigning champion and not his understudy, so Perez is a long shot for this one.
The seven-time world champion is the most successful driver in USA F1 grand prix history with six wins at this track in his career, and he’d love to end the season on a positive note.
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, and he could only finish fourth in the Netherlands 13 seconds behind Verstappen. Last time out in Singapore he could only finish ninth.
He loves this track as previously mentioned, but he hasn’t won here since 2017 where he made it four in a row. Sitting outside the top five of the Driver’s Championship standings is unfamiliar for the Brit, but he knows how to win races and if he can get to the front he’ll be confident of staying there.
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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