Spanish Grand Prix F1 betting tips, odds and predictions: McLarens will be hard to peg back in Barcelona

Where to watch the Spanish Grand Prix

The Spanish Grand Prix can be viewed live on Sky Sports F1 at 2pm on Sunday.

Best bets

Lewis Hamilton to finish third
1pt 13-2 bet365

Gabriel Bortoleto points finish
1pt 7-2 bet365

Spanish Grand Prix odds

Odds correct at time of publication. Each-way 1/3 odds, 1,2.

Spanish Grand Prix predictions

If rival teams were hoping that the technical directive that clamped down on front-wing flexing this week would lead to McLaren's demise they will be disappointed.

The British team locked out the front row for the Spanish Grand Prix with Oscar Piastri pinching pole position from teammate Lando Norris on the final run of Q3. It's his fourth pole of the season and he is odds-on to convert it into his fifth race win as he looks to extend his three-point lead in the championship.

McLaren have double the points of any other team in the constructors championship and the Piastri-Norris dual forecast is just 1-5 with bet365 for Sunday's race.

With the papaya-coloured cars generally benefiting from better tyre wear in the race it's hard to see their rivals pegging them back if they can keep their lead at the first corner.

World champion Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton have won the last nine Spanish Grands Prix between them, but with their successes coinciding almost perfectly with the dominant car in the championship each season, that statistic really points to a McLaren victory rather than an upset.

Verstappen's talent again took the Red Bull further up the grid than it should be, in third - his teammate Yuki Tsunoda was 20th and last - and while Mercedes showed good pace in qualifying to take fourth and sixth, they can often take a step back on Sundays, while the forecast higher temperatures could also count against them.

Ferrari could be fighting for the final podium place and Hamilton, a six-time winner of this race, is an interesting option at 13-2 with bet365 to finish third from fifth on the grid. After a troubled start to the week he showed good pace in qualifying and, unlike Mercedes, the Italian team are often stronger in races than over a single lap.

Rookie Isack Hadjar continues to impress for the Racing Bulls team and is a contender for a second successive top-six finish at 5-2 with Hills. Slight preference for a finishing-position bet, though is to take a chance on Sauber's Gabriel Bortoleto securing his first F1 points at 7-2. 

The Brazilian is last in the championship standings with a best finish of 14th but he outshone his more experienced teammate Nico Hulkenberg in qualifying after the pair were an improved 11th and 12th in third practice.

The team made a major update to their cars this week and Bortoleto, the 2024 Formula 2 champion, missed out on Q3 by only just over a tenth of a second. He will start 12th and if a couple of the drivers ahead of him meet trouble he should be in the mix for the top ten.

 

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