F1 Spanish Grand Prix betting tips and F1 predictions: Red Bull struggling

Free F1 tips, best bets and analysis for the Spanish Grand Prix qualifying session at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona on Saturday

Where to watch

Sky Sports F1, 2pm Saturday

Best bet

Valtteri Bottas fastest qualifier
1pt 10-3 Hills

Preview

Lewis Hamilton holds an eight-point advantage over Max Verstappen going into the fourth round of the championship in Spain this weekend.

And it was also advantage Hamilton after practice day as the Mercedes driver ended up fastest while Red Bull struggled to get the best out of their car.

The Dutchman was second-quickest in the morning, behind Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

But he was unable to put together a clean lap in the afternoon, ending up ninth, 0.6 seconds off the pace.

Verstappen has looked to have the speed to qualify fastest for all three races so far, but he has secured just one pole position thanks to driving errors.

To add to Red Bull’s plight, Sergio Perez struggled for pace all day, finishing tenth.

Clearly, there is a good chance Verstappen will still be involved in the fight for pole. But it is becoming evident that he is trying too hard.

Red Bull started the season with a definite performance advantage over the Mercedes that has powered Hamilton to six of his seven world titles. But as the Silver Arrows have caught up, Verstappen has started overdriving in an attempt to keep up, and the young charger is on the back foot as a result.

Overtaking at Barcelona is difficult, so starting from the front is of extra importance, and particularly when your car suffers from a straight-line speed disadvantage, as the Red Bull appeared to in Portugal last time.

Hamilton makes plenty of appeal at evens in the fastest qualifier market, but Bottas may represent better value.

The Finn has four poles from his last ten races, and denied Hamilton an unprecedented 100th career pole position at Portimao.

Bottas this week has rubbished reports he may be replaced at Mercedes before the end of the season, and looked in good shape during practice around the Barcelona track, where he claimed pole position two years ago.

Bottas is worth a bet to make Hamilton wait a little longer for his milestone.

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