Chinese Grand Prix betting tips and F1 race predictions: Alonso can make his experience count

Where to watch the Chinese Grand Prix
Sky Sports F1, 8am Sunday

Best bet

Fernando Alonso top-six finish
1pt 2-1 Betfair, Paddy Power

Chinese Grand Prix race predictions

For the first time in five years, Formula 1 returns to China for this weekend's fifth round of the season.

Although the Shanghai circuit has hosted 16 grands prix, this year's cars are very different from those that raced on F1's last visit in 2019, so it's pretty much a clean slate for the teams.

This is the first of six scheduled sprint weekends this season so the teams have precious little time to dial their cars in to the circuit. 

There is just one hour of practice before qualifying for Saturday's sprint - a race that most teams will probably use as a mini testing session.

After his failure to finish in Australia, Max Verstappen was back on top in Japan last time and the world champion is a massive favourite to follow up in China.

Red Bull's Melbourne struggles showed that they are beatable, though, when they get the set-up wrong and there is certainly potential for that on what might as well be a new track.

Experience could count for plenty this weekend, so siding with the most experienced driver in F1 history could be a profitable strategy.

Fernando Alonso has not managed to emulate his stellar start to last year but the veteran of 381 grand prix starts has proved there are many more miles on the clock.

Since the last race, the Spanish stalwart has signed an extension to his Aston Martin contract, so that is one less distraction when he's on track.

Alonso has crossed the line in the top six in each of the last three races, although he dropped to eighth in Australia following what many saw as a harsh penalty for brake-testing George Russell. The odds are enticing for the two-time Shanghai winner to record another top-six finish.

The circuit has a good mix of corner types, but its four very tight turns are more than most tracks and could give Aston Martin a significant edge over their main rivals McLaren and Mercedes.

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