Dutch Grand Prix betting tips: Verstappen eyes home comforts

It is possible Verstappen, 24, could seal his championship defence at one of the rounds in Singapore or Japan at the beginning of October.

His early-season scrap with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc seems a distant memory, with the Monegasque undone by a series of team blunders and individual errors which now leave him third in the standings behind Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez and a massive 98 points off the leader.

One podium in his last nine grands prix is a dismal return for Leclerc, who finished sixth at Spa having started 15th.

He is 8/13 to end his wait for a podium while he is 7/2 to produce a much-needed win.

Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari is 10/1 for the win and Perez is also 10/1 to earn a confidence-boosting victory.

Hamilton going backwards

The red lights at the Belgian Grand Prix brought up 265 days since Lewis Hamilton’s last victory and he did not make it much further.

A first-lap collision with old rival Fernando Alonso – which Hamilton accepted the blame for – left the seven-time world champion out of the race and resulted in the Spaniard labelling him an “idiot” who could only drive at the front of the grid.

It capped a miserable weekend for Hamilton which had begun with such optimism.

The Silver Arrows arrived in Belgium with renewed vigour following a run of strong performances heading into the sport’s one-month shutdown.

Hamilton said he felt like he was dragging a parachute behind him after being way off the pace in qualifying but Verstappen and Leclerc’s penalties gave Hamilton his best chance of a first win of the season to mean he has won a race in every season in which he has competed.

Lewis and Fernando reflect on their opening lap tangle 🗣️#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/pHw2wf8wiH

— Formula 1 (@F1) August 28, 2022

It was not to be and he is now 24 points behind team-mate George Russell in the standings.

Hamilton is 10/1 to turn things around with a win at Zandvoort while a double podium for Mercedes is available at 11/2.

Alpine hold edge on McLaren

The two teams are battling off track over the future of driver Oscar Piastri but are also scrapping on track over a ‘best of the rest’ finish.

Alpine seized the advantage in Belgium with Alonso’s fifth-placed finish equalling their best of the season while Esteban Ocon fought back to seventh.

McLaren pair Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished 12th and 15th respectively, the team’s first point-less finish since Canada which left them 20 points behind Alpine in the battle to finish fourth in the constructors’ championship.

Alpine are 10/3 for a double top six finish in Zandvoort, with McLaren 16/1 for that feat. A double points finish is perhaps more realistic, priced at 3/5 for Alpine and 2/1 for McLaren.

View the latest F1 odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication