Bahrain Grand Prix betting tips and F1 predictions: Leclerc can make up for last year's lost podium

Where to watch the Bahrain Grand Prix

Practice one & two
Sky Sports F1, 11.30am & 3pm Thursday

Practice three & qualifying
Sky Sports F1, 12.30pm & 4pm Friday

Race
Sky Sports F1, 3pm Saturday

Best bet

Charles Leclerc podium finish
2pts Evs bet365

Bahrain Grand Prix race predictions

Ferrari always tend to look good in winter testing, and while some might point to that as evidence that pre-season form is an unreliable guide, memories are short and it is often forgotten that they also tend to make a decent start to the season.

Caros Sainz finished fourth in Bahrain last year while Charles Leclerc retired. That sounds distinctly unimpressive but the Ferrari pair had locked out the second row behind the dominant Red Bulls and Leclerc looked nailed on for third place before his Prancing Horse pulled itself up 18 laps shy of the finish line.

The year before Leclerc had beaten Max Verstappen in an epic dual at Sakhir, and the Monegasque has a history of strong performances at the circuit, even if he hasn't always been duly rewarded.

Sainz may have inherited the podium finish last year but he took too much life out of his tyres and couldn't defend against Fernando Alonso.

That has been a trait of recent Ferrari F1 cars but they looked to be getting on top of it by the end of last term and there were encouraging signs pre-season that this year's machine is even kinder to its tyres.

Qualifying specialist Leclerc ended last season on a run of five consecutive top-two qualifying efforts as well as earning podium finishes in the last three Grands Prix he finished.

Leclerc looks worth a bet to keep that run going into the new season. 

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