Check out the latest F1 odds and Austrian Grand Prix predictions and picks for the race on Sunday, June 30.
The Austrian Grand Prix sits on the calendar as the middle race of back-to-back-to-back race weekends on European soil. Max Verstappen has dominated his team's home race, winning a record five times out of the 19 Grands Prix taking place in Spielberg.
The Red Bull Ring is a high-speed circuit that allows the drivers to full throttle go up the first three straights, and requires them to maneuver several tight right-hand turns at the end of the lap. The track features new gravel pits closer to the white boundary lines this year to prevent the slew of track limits violations that we have been an issue for several years.
The track isn’t the shortest by distance on the F1 calendar, but it is the shortest lap by time. As such, the race will be 71 laps long, featuring only 10 corners in total per lap. The long straights demand a lot of power from these cars, as 79% of the lap is spent at full throttle. The three DRS zones during a lap will provide overtaking opportunities throughout the race.
Qualifying on Saturday was dominated by Verstappen in front of his fans in bright orange, rooting on the Dutchman. Verstappen posted a fastest lap time of 1:04.314 in Q3 to take pole position ahead of Lando Norris by a full 0.404 seconds.
George Russell and Carlos Sainz will start in P3 and P4, respectively, with both drivers posting the exact same lap time in Q2, and Russell edging out Sainz by 0.011 seconds in Q3. On the third row of the starting grid will be Lewis Hamilton in P5 and Charles Leclerc in P6.
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F1 Odds: Austrian Grand Prix Picks & Predictions
Oscar Piastri Fights for Podium Finish
McLaren is right on the heels of Red Bull as the quickest car on the grid once again. The Sprint Race on Saturday morning was another example of the Constructors being ahead of the field outside of Verstappen.
During the sprint, Norris was able to overtake Verstappen early on, starting the race in P2. As Verstappen retook the lead from Norris, Oscar Piastri was able to take advantage and also get by his teammate on the same corner. The McLaren’s had to settle for P2 and P3, with Piastri staying ahead of Norris at the checkered flag by 0.732 second over 23 laps.
During Q3 of the qualifying session, it looked as though it would be Verstappen, Norris and Piastri again in the top three for the Austrian Grand Prix; Norris being 0.404 seconds behind Verstappen and Piastri a mere 0.068 seconds behind that. However, Piastri had a lap time deleted because of exceeding track limits, which pushed him down to P7 to start the race.
Despite starting behind both Merecedes and Ferrari’s for the race, I like the value of Piastri to podium at the Red Bull Ring. Not often does the car in P7 have the second-fastest car on the grid, nor the books give us a 50/50 proposition at +450 odds. Other books have his odds at the podium lower, so be sure to shop around and get the best price out there.
The Pick: Oscar Piastri – Podium Finish (1u, +450 on DraftKings)
Ferrari Head-to-Head Matchup
The Scuderia Ferrari team may be sitting in second place in the Constructors Championship currently, but things have not been all sunshine and roses lately. Two races ago, both drivers did not finish the race in Canada, and just last week in Spain finished in P5 and P6.
The Red Bull Ring should suit the Ferrari car exceptionally well, rewarding shear power and straight-line speed, but that hasn’t been the case so far this race weekend for the Ferrari’s. Notably, Leclerc did finish in P2 in last year's race and Sainz finished on the podium in the sprint race last season.
Between the two drivers, one has stood out during the sprint race and qualifying as being much more locked in and successful around this circuit: Carlos Sainz. He started and finished the Sprint Race in P5, both ahead of his teammate Leclerc.
During the qualifying session, with a lap time of 1:05.263, Sainz was the fastest car on the grid for Q1. He went onto out-qualify his teammate in Q3, with a lap time 0.193 seconds quicker than Leclerc. Sainz will start two spots ahead of Leclerc on Sunday at P4 and P6, respectively.
Leclerc has struggled all weekend long, including not posting a time in Q3 of sprint qualifying because of not making it to the line in time. He also ran wide and slid on the gravel, damaging the undercarriage of his Ferrari in Q3 of race qualifying. I like for him to continue to struggle during the race and for Sainz to finish ahead of him Sunday.
