F1 British Grand Prix: race betting preview, tips & TV details

Channel 4 & Sky F1, 2.10pm Sunday

Lewis Hamilton is favourite to take his sixth British Grand Prix victory at Silverstone despite being edged out in qualifying by his Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The Finn, tipped at 7-2 in Racing Post Sport, claimed his fourth pole position of the season by just 0.006 seconds, with Charles Leclerc a further 0.073 seconds behind.

Top tip
Max Verstappen 10-1

The start could sort out the battle between the Mercedes drivers, but tyres could be the deciding factor as the race wears on.

There are differing strategies at the front - the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers will start the race on medium tyres before switching to soft, while the Ferraris of Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel will begin on the softer rubber.

Max Verstappen scythed through the field after a poor start to win in Austria last time and while his Red Bull is not showing quite the same pace it had in Spielberg, he could again find his tyres in better shape than his rivals in the second half of the race.

Verstappen qualified a fine fourth, less than 0.2 seconds off Bottas's pole lap, and provided he can make a better getaway than he did in Austria he should be able to stay within range of the Mercedes pair until tyre wear becomes a factor.

Other markets
Charles Leclerc leader after one lap 5-1
Antonio Giovinazzi points finish 9-4

Starting on soft tyres instead of mediums arguably cost Charles Leclerc a maiden victory in Austria as he was overhauled by Verstappen in the closing stages. Yet Ferrari have opted to try the same strategy again.

While it would appear to be the weaker play, Leclerc's best chance of making the tactic work will be to get into the lead early on.

The softer tyres should allow him to get off the line better than the medium-shod Mercedes cars starting ahead of him and Leclerc has shown, particularly in Bahrain and Monaco, that he's not afraid of muscling his way past people.

The Mercedes drivers are battling for the championship and neither is likely to risk a crash with Leclerc, who is not in the title hunt and will almost certainly have to pit significantly earlier than them.

Antonio Giovinazzi has had some bad luck this season but he scored his maiden point in Austria and could claim another top-ten finish at Silverstone.

The Italian outqualified his Alfa Romeo teammate Kimi Raikkonen for the third time in four races and starts 11th. Importantly, he also has a free choice of tyre to start the race on, while the drivers immediately ahead of him on the grid are at a strategic disadvantage as they must start on used softs.

Recommendations
M Verstappen
1pt each-way 10-1 Hills, Sky Bet
C Leclerc leader after one lap
1pt 5-1 bet365
A Giovinazzi points finish
1pt 9-4 Betfair, Paddy Power

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