A new Formula 1 season usually arrives with fresh car designs to pore over, a handful of rookie drivers and some familiar faces in new places.

But for 2024's marathon 24-race schedule, which starts in Bahrain on March 2nd, there are no rule changes of note and, for the first time ever, no driver changes across the entire grid.

That means this season more than ever will likely be a continuation of the last, and bookmakers certainly seem to think so with 2023's dominant world champion Max Verstappen installed at ¼ to win his fourth consecutive drivers' title.

MCLAREN COULD MAKE A FLYING START FOR ONCE

One team who will be especially pleased that this is a year of evolution rather than revolution is McLaren.

For the last two seasons the Woking-based outfit have arrived for the season opener in Bahrain woefully underprepared and thoroughly uncompetitive before finding their form once the car has been refined later in the year.

Last season McLaren introduced major revisions in three stages, in Austria, Britain and Hungary, and leapt up the field.

Lando Norris started and finished all three of those races in the top four, finding only Verstappen too good in the races at Silverstone and Budapest.

Both papaya coloured cars finished on the podium in Japan and Qatar, with rookie driver Oscar Piastri winning the sprint race in Lusail, while they rounded out the season by finishing fifth and sixth in Abu Dhabi.

That's a solid point to start from with their 2024 challenger and the highly-rated Norris was impressed enough to ink an early extension to his contract with the team.

Their poor start to the campaign meant they finished only fourth in the constructors' championship, but that gives them more access to wind tunnel testing than Red Bull, Mercedes and Ferrari who ended the season ahead of them.

Norris ended the season sixth in the drivers' championship, one point behind fourth-placed Fernando Alonso.

But from the final eight race weekends of the season he collected 126 points from Grand Prix and sprint races, while championship runner-up, Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, scored only 66.

With a full season under his belt, Piastri can contribute more technical feedback to the team's development efforts while pushing Norris more, and at odds of 15/4 the Bristolian racer looks the pick in the betting without Verstappen. https://www.betmgm.co.uk/sports#event/1020127300

Perez heads that market at 11/10, but was pushed hard by Lewis Hamilton last year.

The Mercedes ace is the same price as Norris, but with the team having gone back to the drawing board for 2024, it could be their turn to lose ground early in the season.

Ferrari were the only team other than Red Bull to win a Grand Prix last season, but consistency has been their shortcoming too often in recent years.

https://www.betmgm.co.uk/sports#event/1020127300

Tip 1 - LANDO NORRIS DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER WITHOUT MAX VERSTAPPEN

There was more drama off the track than on it for Alpine last year, with changes aplenty behind the scenes at the Renault-owned team.

It was ultimately a disappointing year for the well-funded outfit, who looked good in pre-season testing, as they finished only sixth in the constructors' championship with 120 points, some 53 fewer than they collected in 2022.

Drivers Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon were well matched throughout the season.

Gasly edged their personal battle with 62 points to Ocon's 58, but the Evreux racer is worth a bet at Evens to turn the form around.

https://www.betmgm.co.uk/sports#event/1020127300

Tip 2 - ESTEBAN OCON TO BEAT PIERRE GASLY IN SEASON BET MATCHUP

Ocon suffered four mechanical failures during the 2023 season, while the only race in which Gasly was not classified as a finisher was in Hungary, where the Alpine pair collided at the first corner.

Ocon's season was also blighted by a laughable number of penalties, earned as a result of being a hard racer in the thick of a tight midfield pack.

Each Alpine driver made one Grand Prix podium appearance during the season.

However, while Ocon's Monaco third-place finish was earned entirely on merit, Gasly's bronze medal came in a Dutch Grand Prix characterised by extreme weather changes which was more about fitting suitable tyres than driving quickly.

The French pair are likely to be closely matched again, but the value call is to side with Ocon.

Discover the full range of Formula 1 season betting options and markets on BetMGM's Formula 1 page. https://www.betmgm.co.uk/sports#event/1020127300

Formula 1 roars back into action this week with the first of a record-breaking 24-race schedule in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Fans should note that the season starts with a Saturday race rather than the traditional Sunday slot to be sure not to miss out.

All eyes will be on the first race of the season in the hope that the teams can serve up a more competitive championship than in 2023, when Red Bulls' Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races.

Pre-season testing suggested the Dutchman should still have the edge on his rivals but Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are hopeful of at least providing the world champion with stronger opposition this time around.

Charles Leclerc podium finish @ 9/10

Ferrari appear to be best-placed to end Red Bull's period of dominance this season and they should give a good account of themselves in the opening race, even if they can't deny Max Verstappen a fourth successive world title.

The famous red cars showed up well in pre-season testing and there is hope that they can throw down a much stronger challenge than in 2023, although they were the only team other than Red Bull to win a race thanks to Carlos Sainz Jr.'s success in Singapore.

Charles Leclerc looks even more likely to be given number one status at Ferrari this season as Sainz is leaving the team next year to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton, and he finished last season strongly by finishing runner-up to Verstappen in the final two races of last season.

The Monegasque driver has some good form in Bahrain, winning the race in 2022 and he was running third last year when he suffered engine trouble.

Taking Leclerc at 9/10 to finish in the top three may be the safer choice for a bet on the race with Verstappen priced at just 33/100 to make a winning start, although bolder bettors may prefer a small interest on the second-favourite to win the race at 8/1.

Daniel Ricciardo top-six finish @ 10/1

The other team in the Red Bull family has been renamed Visa Cash App RB this season, or VCARB and even just RB for short, but the team known as Alpha Tauri last season look set to make an impression in 2024, whatever you call them.

The team's close relationship with Red Bull has come in for criticism, but they appear to be making progress through the midfield teams and finished the 2023 season strongly with Yuki Tsunoda finishing in the points at three of the final five races.

His Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo emerged from a spell in the F1 wilderness when joining the team in the middle of the season and while his progress was slowed by a hand injury that caused him to miss five races, he could emerge as the team leader this year.

Ricciardo has a decent opportunity to secure a top-10 points finish in the opener at 17/20 but it could pay to take a chance that he can do even better and claim a top-six finish at 10/1.

Winning margin 10 seconds or more @ 5/4

There are solid grounds for backing a winning margin of more than 10 seconds in Saturday's race and it also provides some welcome insurance in case we see a repeat of last season with Verstappen disappearing into the distance.

The world champion won by more than 10 seconds in four of the final six races of last season, taking the chequered flag when 17, 13, 10 and 19 seconds in those events.

It's hard to have much faith in Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez giving him much of a battle given that he never finished ahead of the Dutchman after his two wins in the first four races of last season and was rarely even able to stay close to him for long.

Verstappen won this race by 17 seconds last season last year, and, while a late safety car could scupper it, under normal circumstances a clear margin of victory looks a likely outcome in Bahrain.

Pre-season running, practice and qualifying for last week's Bahrain Grand Prix suggested that the 2024 Formula 1 season would be no cakewalk for hot favourite Max Verstappen.

Then on race day, the Dutch three-time world champion disappeared into the distance, winning at a canter with his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez following him home in second.

It was a disappointing start to the season not only for neutrals but also for Red Bull's rivals, however, there are reasons to think the next few races may not play out the same way, starting with this week's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, with the race once again taking place on Saturday.

Tip 1 - George Russell top-three finish @ 4/1

After a disastrous couple of years by their lofty standards, Mercedes decided to go back to the drawing board and start afresh with their design concept for 2024.

That had the potential to put them on the back foot, but signs in pre-season testing were encouraging as the car was visibly smoother and more driveable on track.

That impression was confirmed in practice in Bahrain as Lewis Hamilton and George Russell topped the times on the first day of running, and both drivers' comments were notably more upbeat than we have become used to.

The team opted to switch focus to race pace rather than single-lap speed on Friday, but Russell was able to qualify a handy third on the grid.

The Briton made a solid start and things looked even better as he muscled his way past Charles Leclerc's Ferrari into second place.

But as Russell set about building a gap behind him his car began to overheat and he was forced to ease off, eventually dropping back behind the Ferraris to finish fifth.

The cause was a miscalculation from the team about how much cooling would be needed, but the potential was there to see and Russell may have been underrated in the market to hit back with a first podium finish of the season.

Tip 2 - Charles Leclerc winner without Max Verstappen @ 5/2

Russell was not the only prominent runner to experience car trouble in the season opener, as Ferrari ace Leclerc also endured a frustrating evening at Sakhir.

Leclerc had actually set the fastest time during qualifying, but it came during Q2 rather than in the final shootout which decides the grid order.

The Monegasque still lined up on the front row, but it became quickly apparent there was something wrong with his brakes, as the red car smoked its tyres and slid wide into corners repeatedly during the early laps.

The puzzled Leclerc slipped back behind Russell, Perez and Carlos Sainz in the other Ferrari, managing the issue and being able to repass Russell's ailing Mercedes to finish fourth.

The absence of the problem on Sainz's car suggests it was a one-off, and the fact the Spaniard was able to finish within three seconds of Perez in the second Red Bull bodes well for Saudi Arabia.

Bahrain is the most abrasive track surface on the calendar, and that may well have suited the Red Bull best of all, particularly Perez - the Tyre Whisperer himself.

Jeddah has no big braking points and the lower dependency on tyre life could help bring the Red Bulls back towards the pack.

Perez led home a 1-2 for the Milton Keynes team in Saudi Arabia last year, with Verstappen hampered by having to start 15th following a mechanical failure in qualifying.

But Leclerc himself had begun 12th after a penalty for an engine change and Ferrari, like Mercedes and McLaren were still a mess at that point of the season.

The fact that Sainz was able to finish 21 seconds ahead of his closest non-Ferrari pursuer in Bahrain suggests their race pace is strong, and with a little more luck this time Leclerc could well emerge as Verstappen's closest challenger in Jeddah.

Red Bull Racing romped to another one-two finish in Saudi Arabia and they will be hoping to continue their utter dominance of the grid when the Formula One entourage heads to Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend.

Max Verstappen won last year’s iteration but Sergio Perez could only manage a fifth-place finish, with Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso taking podium positions in Melbourne.

That is an unlikely top three this time around, though, with Ferrari looking a clear second-best after the opening two races of this season and hoping for a third-successive podium finish, although it would take a brave bettor to back against Max Verstappen triumphing yet again this weekend.

Australian Grand Prix Betting Tips

• Charles Leclerc to finish on the podium @ 3/4
• George Russell to beat Lewis Hamilton @ 4/6

Charles Leclerc to finish on the podium @ 3/4

After winning 17 of the 19 Grands Prix since last year’s trip to Australia, Max Verstappen looks unopposable at 1/6 but we can look towards Charles Leclerc to maintain Ferrari’s strong start to the season by clinching another top-three spot ahead of their lagging competitors.

Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz was absent due to appendicitis in Saudi Arabia and it is unclear whether the Spaniard will be fit to return to the cockpit this week, leaving the impressive Oliver Bearman as a potential stand-in again, but neither driver should trouble Leclerc in the standings.

As impressive as the 18-year-old Bearman was on his Formula One debut, he is an inexperienced talent and it would be a huge shock to see him even challenge the established generational talent of Charles Leclerc.

Sainz, should he make the race, is capable of going toe-to-toe with his teammate but he will have had little time to prepare during his recovery from appendix surgery, leaving Leclerc with the upper hand against whichever teammate he pairs with in Melbourne.

As for the rest of Leclerc’s podium challengers, Verstappen and Sergio Perez look almost certain to be up there after Red Bull secured successive one-two finishes in the first two races of the season, but the rest of the field are lagging behind in terms of pace.

The Prancing Horse have taken the final spot on the podium in both Bahrain and Jeddah, with Sainz taking third and Leclerc taking fourth in the curtain raiser before Leclerc finished third in Saudi Arabia. The Maranello-based team appear to have the second-best car on the grid and Leclerc undoubtedly has the talent to convert that into a strong finish.

Leclerc retired from third position in last season’s Australian Grand Prix but won the race in 2022, and he can claim a fourth podium in the last five Grands Prix this Sunday.

George Russell to beat Lewis Hamilton @ 4/6

Lewis Hamilton seems to be struggling to get his head around the Mercedes offering this year and that could open the door for George Russell to continue his promising start to the campaign in Australia.

Russell, who is fighting to become the Silver Arrows’ number-one driver next season, has finished fifth and sixth in the opening two races this season, with his Ferrari-bound teammate managing disappointing seventh and ninth-place finishes respectively.

Additionally, Melbourne’s Albert Park Circuit has not been Lewis Hamilton’s strongest track over the course of his career. The seven-time world champion has only won two of the 16 Australian Grands Prix he has taken part in and only one of those triumphs came in the turbo-hybrid era at Mercedes-Benz.

Russell took a podium spot and finished one position ahead of Hamilton here in his debut season at Mercedes and he qualified an impressive second last year - with Hamilton in third - before being forced to retire in the race itself with an engine problem.

He can keep his strong start going by beating his outbound teammate on Sunday.

• Betting Tip 1: Charles Leclerc to finish on the podium @ 3/4
• Betting Tip 2: George Russell to beat Lewis Hamilton @ 4/6
• Winner Odds: Max Verstappen 1/6, Sergio Perez 12/1, Charles Leclerc 16/1

Formula 1 races in Florida for the third time this week and for the second successive event it's a sprint-race weekend with a shorter race on Saturday before the main event on Sunday.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races in 2023 and has taken four of the five races so far this season, falling short only when he suffered brake issues early in the Australian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman has won each of the first two races at the street track outside the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and is a red-hot favourite to extend his world championship lead.

Tip1 - George Russell podium finish @ 6/1

Max Verstappen is hard to oppose at a track where he has won both previous races. The Red Bull ace has not yet taken pole position in Miami but won the inaugural event from third on the grid after getting past both Ferraris of pole-sitter Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr.

Last year, he achieved an even more difficult task after failing to set a lap time in the final qualifying session and starting ninth on the grid. The three-time world champion was still able to muscle his way past the eight cars ahead of him to win by more than five seconds from team-mate Sergio Perez.

Verstappen is understandably a short price at 1/7 to claim his fifth win of the season, but some of his rivals are hoping to have improved their chances of laying down a stronger challenge to the championship leader.

McLaren and Mercedes are both bringing upgrades to the Miami race in the hope of reducing the advantage enjoyed by the top team. However, while McLaren have made impressive leaps forward with previous packages, not least their mid-season improvement from Silverstone onwards last season, Miami is not likely to be a track where they are seen at their best.

The papaya-coloured cars excel in high-speed corners, of which there are very few in Miami, a street track that largely consists of low-gear corners and long straights. McLaren should be capable of mixing it with Red Bull later in the season but this may not be their race.

Mercedes are also hoping to be stronger in the United States this week and that could bring George Russell into contention for a podium finish at rewarding odds of 6/1.

The British driver has outperformed his seven-time world champion team-mate Lewis Hamilton in every race this season and has 33 points in the championship compared to Hamilton's 19.

Russell has yet to better his fifth place in the opening race of the season, but if Mercedes have got it right with their changes he could be underestimated in the odds to add to his 11 career podium finishes.

Tip 2 - Nico Hulkenberg points finish @ 33/20

German driver Nico Hulkenberg announced this week he is leaving Haas at the end of the season to rejoin the Sauber team.

He has been having a good final campaign for the American outfit so far, though, with three points finishes in the last four races and he could add at least another point in Miami.

Hulkenberg was 10th in Saudi Arabia and China and ninth in Australia, and Haas had a good weekend at this track last year.

Kevin Magnussen held on to take 10th after impressing to qualify a surprising fourth and while Hulkenberg was only 15th, he has had the upper hand against his Danish team-mate this year, finishing ahead of Magnussen in the last four races.

Tip 3 - Yuki Tsunoda to beat Daniel Ricciardo @ 4/9

Daniel Ricciardo is a popular figure in America and across the world thanks to his entertaining appearances in the Netflix show Drive To Survive, but he has not been getting the job done on the track this season.

The Australian has retired from the last two races and not finished above 12th in the first five events of the year. That's not good enough for a driver who was hoping to put his name in the frame for a Red Bull seat next season as he is yet to score a point this year. His Visa Cash App RB team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, has seven.

The Japanese driver has finished 12th and 11th in his first two Miami races and a similar effort might well be good enough to finish in front of Ricciardo again.

The stage is set for a thrilling British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.

World champion Max Verstappen finished only fifth in Austria last week after a clash with his closest current rival Lando Norris, but extended his championship as the McLaren man was unable to complete the race.

The Dutch Red Bull driver won by a narrow margin in Britain last season for his second success at the track but faces some stiff competition after George Russell's Spielberg success saw Mercedes become the fourth team to win a race this season.

Tip 1 - Lando Norris to win race @ 3/1

Verstappen failed to win a third race in a row on his third attempt this season in Austria but the victory in Spielberg would have gone to either him or Norris if they had not got in each other's way and it's hard to look past the top pair when seeking this week's winner.

Verstappen is no longer enjoying the comfortable victories he has been cruising around to collect for the past couple of seasons and Norris looks the better value bet of the pair at the odds on offer.

Verstappen beat Norris by 2.2 seconds in Spain two weeks ago and 3.8 seconds in Montreal in the previous round and, while the Red Bull star had the edge in qualifying last week, Norris seemed to have the faster car in the race.

The McLaren's ability to retain performance in its tyres for longer could be valuable on the unforgiving Silverstone surface so losing out to Verstappen again in qualifying might not be a disaster for the Englishman, even though it would bring the added risk of having to attempt to pass the championship leader on the track.

Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri harried the Red Bull as a pair in the sprint in Austria, but were not able to do that in the race due to the Australian having his best qualifying time deleted for a marginal track limits violation and dropping from third to seventh on the grid.

Piastri should be on the scene to provide assistance and give McLaren tactical options this week and he was not far off catching Russell for his first grand prix win last week, but Norris should be able to lead the team's challenge again.

Tip 2 - Lewis Hamilton to beat George Russell @ Evens

Russell is the man of the moment at Mercedes after celebrating the second victory of his career in Austria. However, no driver has a better record at Silverstone than Lewis Hamilton and the veteran racer looks worth backing as the outsider in a race match bet between the team-mates at the British Grand Prix.

Hamilton's name became known to race fans across the world even before he had arrived in F1 with a sensational overtake on his way to victory in the 2006 GP2 race at Silverstone and it was the scene of one of his most famous triumphs two years later when he won the British Grand Prix by more than a minute for McLaren in the rain.

The seven-time world champion has won his home race a record eight times, beating the previous best of five wins by legends Jim Clark and Alain Prost.

He dominated at the Northamptonshire track during his heyday with Mercedes, winning seven of the eight races between 2014 and 2021, while the last of those successes was notorious for his clash with Verstappen at Copse which sent his rival into a high-speed crash.

Russell has also had some good days at the home of British motorsport, winning there in Formula 4, Formula 3 and GP3 and finishing runner-up in both races there in his Formula 2 championship season in 2018.

The King's Lynn racer caught the eye in 2021 when qualifying eighth in a poorly performing Williams but fifth place last year was his best F1 finish at the track and Hamilton could get the better of him this weekend.

Tip 3 - Nico Hulkenberg points finish @ Evens

Nico Hulkenberg finished in the top six in Austria for his best result of the season and the Haas driver has a decent chance of staying in the top 10 at Silverstone.

The German has finished no worse than 11th in nine of the 11 races this season and, while his five placings in the top non-scoring position of 11th will have been frustrating, he impressed in Spielberg, qualifying ninth and pipping the Red Bull of Sergio Perez for sixth place in the race.

That achievement was assisted by the Mexican having damaged his car early in the race, but Hulkenberg was comfortably in the points and has been a regular visitor to the top 10 at Silverstone for Williams, Sauber, Force India, Renault and Racing Point over the years.

There is a chance of rain in the forecast, with race day most likely to be affected, and any failures to complete by the top teams or chaos in the race would assist Hulkenberg's chances of another strong finish.

The competition has been hotting up in Formula 1 and promises to hit new heights in this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix on what is forecast to be a scorching weekend in Budapest.

As the second half of the season kicks off three-time world champion Max Verstappen holds a massive 84-point lead in the title race - but that is in no way reflective of the battle on the track in recent events.

The last seven races have seen five different drivers claim victories - there were only three different race winners in the whole of last season.

Red Bull ace Verstappen arrived in Hungary last year gunning for a seventh straight victory but this time he has not won either of the last two races, a situation he has not experienced since the middle of 2022.

Despite a dominant start to the season, Red Bull have come under increasing pressure from McLaren, Ferrari and now Mercedes, who have won the last two races.

The season has seen six different winners from four different teams and it is not at all unlikely that we will see at least one more new driver take the top step of the podium before the year is out.

TIP 1 - OSCAR PIASTRI TO WIN @ 8/1

Despite a vastly improved car, McLaren are showing their inexperience of running at the front and have missed out on several possible wins.

Lando Norris scored his maiden victory in Miami and pushed Verstappen all the way next time out in Emilia Romagna. He left it too late to make a pitstop behind the safety car in Canada, fluffed the start from pole position in Spain, was taken out while trying to pass Verstappen for the lead in Austria and threw away victory through poor strategy in Britain last time.

Under slightly different circumstances, Norris could have won six of the last seven races.

His young team-mate Oscar Piastri has had his share of woe too. A good second in Monaco, the Australian should have inherited the victory in Austria after Norris and Verstappen's clash but a contentious grid penalty left him starting seventh and on the back foot.

He was one of the five drivers in with a realistic shot of winning at Silverstone but a disastrous strategy call from the team cost him around 25 seconds in the race. Despite that, he still finished fourth.

Piastri ran second in Hungary last year until the first round of pit stops and has been getting closer to Norris's level of performance.

Budapest offers a unique challenge and several drivers have taken their first wins at the track including future world champions Damon Hill, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Piastri could become the latest to join that illustrious list.

TIP 2 - CHARLES LECLERC PODIUM FINISH @ 3/1

With a strong outing at Imola and victory at Monaco Ferrari looked to be on the verge of recapturing their glory days - but it has all fallen apart since then.

Monaco winner Charles Leclerc has recorded just one points finish - fifth place in Spain - in the four races since that success.

The team's latest upgrade has made the car unstable at high speed. That is something which particularly would have hurt in Austria and Great Britain but which shouldn't prove too much of a hindrance at the twisty Hungaroring.

It can be dangerous to compare Monaco and Budapest from a form study point of view, but both have low average speeds, low top speeds and long periods where the car is turning.

Certainly the circuit should suit Ferrari better than any since Monaco and, while a return to the top step may prove beyond them, Leclerc is worth a bet to pick up his sixth podium finish of the year.

TIP 3 - VALTTERI BOTTAS TOP-15 FINISH @ 11/10

It has been a difficult season for Sauber, who are the only team yet to pick up a point this year.

The team will be taken over by Audi for 2026 so the current owners could be forgiven for not putting too much effort into developing the car - but they certainly aren't tailed off at the back of the field.

Valtteri Bottas sits 21st in the standings despite only 20 drivers starting each race - the result of Ollie Bearman's points-scoring cameo for Ferrari early in the season.

The veteran Finn is a changed character since leaving Mercedes, and has borne his fate with good humour and some strong performances.

He qualified 10th in China but suffered mechanical issues in the race, and finished 13th in Canada despite starting from the pitlane.

Bottas finished 13th in Monaco and 15th at Silverstone last time and odds-against could prove generous for another top-15 finish this week.

The 2024 Formula 1 world championship is not following the pattern many observers expected at the start of the season and another exciting weekend is in prospect at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.

While only three drivers won races in the 2023 season as Red Bull dominated, McLaren's Oscar Piastri became the seventh different winner in 13 races this season when recording his first career success in the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday.

World champion Max Verstappen has failed to win for three successive races for the first time since 2021 but the Dutch driver still holds a commanding 76-point lead over McLaren's Lando Norris in the standings.

Tip 1 — Lando Norris to win race @ 9/10

Verstappen is officially in the worst spell of form he has endured for three years and his task as he attempts to win a fourth successive Belgian Grand Prix is set to be made much harder.

Red Bull are expected to take a fresh engine in Verstappen's car this weekend, exceeding his allocation for the season and incurring a 10-place grid penalty.

It's a sensible track at which to absorb a penalty as overtaking is easier than at many other circuits and Red Bull have overcome penalties at this venue in each of Verstappen's last two wins.

He no longer enjoys the massive performance advantage over his rivals that has been the case for much of the last three seasons, though, and this should be a golden opportunity for Norris to secure his second win of the season.

Norris has had a winning chance at almost every event since breaking his duck in the Miami Grand Prix — his second place in Hungary was his fifth podium finish since then and he was on course for another when colliding with Verstappen in Austria.

The British driver will have the bit between his teeth after reluctantly handing the race lead back to his team-mate Piastri last week.

He would love to win in his mother's home nation and has shown consistent pace in recent races to achieve that goal.

Piastri finished second in the sprint race at Belgium as a rookie last season but went out of the race due to a first-lap collision. Norris's experience at the track should give him an advantage and he looks the right favourite for this race.

Tip 2 — Lewis Hamilton to beat George Russell @ Evens

George Russell has taken a back seat to Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes since his victory in the Canadian Grand Prix and the seven-time world champion looks worth backing as the underdog in their match bet at Spa.

Hamilton put his experience to good use to win the British Grand Prix for a record ninth time at Silverstone three weeks ago, when Russell retired due to a water leak, and the older driver was also in front in Budapest.

Hamilton joined the McLaren duo on the podium when finishing third after qualifying fifth while Russell had another tough weekend, finishing eighth after being eliminated in the first qualifying session and starting only 17th.

Hamilton has a solid record at Spa — winning there in 2010, 2015, 2017 and 2020 — and he had one of his better weekends of last season there too, qualifying third and finishing fourth.

Russell was second in Belgium for Williams in 2021, although that was really just a qualifying result as no racing laps were able to be run in the grand prix.

He has finished fourth and sixth in his two races at Spa with Mercedes but may need to do better than that to stay ahead of Hamilton this week.

Tip 3 — Fernando Alonso top six finish @ 5/1

Aston Martin have had a generally disappointing season and while they occupy the same fifth place in the constructors championship that they held in 2023, they are a lot further away from the top four teams in terms of performance than they were last year.

The team recorded eight podium finishes last year but have yet to do better than Fernando Alonso's fifth place in Saudi Arabia this time.

An update in San Marino failed to bring the expected upturn in form for the green cars, but there were signs of progress as more new parts arrived in Hungary and they finished 10th and 11th.

Alonso has managed three top-six finishes this season and is a tempting price to add another in Spa, where he has finished on the podium three times in his career.

The Spanish veteran has finished fifth at the track in each of the last two seasons — from third on the grid in 2022 and ninth at the start last year — and could be a threat to the top teams if his engineers can get to grips with the car's setup.

The 2024 Formula 1 World Championship roars back into action after its summer break in the Netherlands this weekend and there will be no let-up in the action with four races taking place over the next five weeks.

All eyes are always on Max Verstappen in his home race and the Dutch driver is bidding to become only the fourth driver in the sport's history to win his home round in four successive seasons.

The scrutiny of the world champion will be even more intense as he ended the first half of the season in the coldest form since his pre-championship days.

With seven different winners in the 14 races so far this season, the 2024 championship does not have the look many expected, but Verstappen still holds a comfortable 78-point lead over McLaren's Lando Norris.

Tip 1 — Max Verstappen to win race @ 2/1

Max Verstappen has gone four races without a victory for the first time since the 2020 season, but that means his odds are now far more attractive than they have been for most of the last three seasons.

McLaren's Lando Norris has been made favourite for this week's race in Zandvoort, which should be enough to get Verstappen fired up, not that he ever lacks motivation.

Verstappen has won his home race every time since the Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 2021 and he's done it in relative comfort from pole position on every occasion.

In 2021 he cruised home 20 seconds ahead of the field with only the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas able to stay on the lead lap.

It's also worth remembering that Verstappen's performance in the final race before the break was much better than the bare result of fourth place makes it appear.

While the Red Bull star crossed the line fifth and was promoted one place when winner George Russell was disqualified for an underweight car, he had started the race down in 11th on the grid after taking a 10-place penalty for exceeding his permitted engine allocation for the season.

He was impressive in qualifying, when setting the fastest lap by a wide margin, and still managed to finish ahead of title rival Norris, who had been seven places ahead of him at the start.

Norris was expected to be the man to benefit from any downturn in Verstappen's fortunes, but he has been extremely inefficient at converting his strong car into championship points and Charles Leclerc, Russell, Hamilton and Oscar Piastri have all won races since Norris broke his duck in Miami.

Norris has had some bad fortune in that time, not least when a collision with Verstappen looked to deny him a victory in Austria, but he has become blighted by poor starts and cannot afford to be playing catch-up in every race.

Tip 2 — George Russell podium finish (1-3) @ 11/10

Piastri continues to impress but that is now fully reflected in the odds and the young Australian is just 9/2 to secure his second career success in the Netherlands. The McLaren man also revealed over the summer break that he had broken a rib around the time of the Austrian and British races but says he is now fully recovered.

Russell looks a better value bet for a podium finish as he bids to gain compensation for losing what looked a brilliant victory in Belgium. The British driver pulled off an audacious one-stop strategy to cross the line in front, but the winner's trophy was later handed to his team-mate Hamilton, who had come home second, less than a second ahead of the charging Piastri.

Russell had a rollercoaster ride in Zandvoort last year, qualifying a strong third and leading the race at one point but he suffered a puncture in a clash with Norris and finished out of the points.

He was runner-up to Verstappen in 2022 after qualifying only sixth and drives the track well enough to suggest he can be in the mix to add to his podium finishes in Canada and Austria.

Mercedes are expected to try again with the floor upgrade that they abandoned after practice in Spa and if it has the desired effect this time, Russell's chances will be enhanced further.

Tip 3 — Lance Stroll points finish @ Evens

Aston Martin have lacked much of a spark this season, but they are still capable of challenging for the lower points-paying positions, and Stroll has a fair shot of making the top 10 in the Netherlands.

Stroll finished seventh, 10th and 11th in the last three rounds before the break and won at this track in Formula 3.

He was ninth at Zandvoort last year when teammate Fernando Alonso was an impressive fifth. If the team can find a solid set-up again at the quirky Dutch circuit, then points are a possibility once more.

After two years of complete and utter domination, a sixth-place finish around Monza saw Max Verstappen’s winless streak extended to six races a fortnight ago, and his lead in the World Drivers’ Championship has been cut to 62 points.

This is the longest the Dutchman has been without a Grand Prix win since the truncated 2020 season, although Lando Norris’ third-place finish reduced the damage to his championship hopes.

However, with Norris and now Charles Leclerc within 90 points of Verstappen and eight races remaining, the defending champions find themselves on the back foot and in desperate need of a positive weekend in Baku.

Red Bull have won the last three trips to Azerbaijan, although Sergio Perez has taken the chequered flag in two of those and could be a factor this weekend after a dreadful season so far.

Charles Leclerc to win @ 5/1

Charles Leclerc picked up his third Grand Prix win of the season for Ferrari in front of an elated home crowd at Monza and the Monegasque can build on that emphatic victory around a circuit he has performed well at in Azerbaijan.

Leclerc has now finished on the top step of the podium in both his and his team’s home races this season, and a surprise challenge for both championships is not out of the question with eight Grands Prix remaining.

Ferrari are only 39 points off the lead in the World Constructors’ Championship and their lead driver is 86 points behind Max Verstappen, but the Scuderia are a team in the ascendancy.

They have been on the podium in each of the last three races, and Leclerc has shown fantastic pace around the Baku City Circuit in recent years, taking pole position in the previous three seasons.

Ferrari’s lack of race pace in years gone by has stopped Leclerc from claiming victory in Baku, but there is no denying that he has the measure of this circuit and the new upgrades to the Prancing Horse have clearly given it race-winning potential.

As shown in his impeccable Monza drive, if anybody can take advantage of that, it is Charles Leclerc.

Baku is a circuit that would have been a tough test for Red Bull even early in the year, and now their rivals have leapfrogged the Milton Keynes side they are unlikely to be in the mix for the win.

Oscar Piastri to beat Lando Norris @ 31/20

Once again, Lando Norris was beaten to the punch on the opening lap of the Grand Prix in Monza, with teammate Oscar Piastri taking the lead in the first few corners and being closely followed by eventual-winner Charles Leclerc.

This continued a running theme of Norris losing the lead on the opening lap, and Piastri is proving every bit as capable as the Briton.

Despite his tender age and inexperience, the Australian is only 44 points adrift of Norris and has grown into this season, taking four podiums in his last six races, including his maiden victory in Hungary.

Piastri has beaten his teammate in four of these six Grands Prix and looks a big price to do so again in Baku, just like he did in last year’s Azerbaijan Sprint.

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The 2024 Formula 1 World Championship produced another great race in Azerbaijan as McLaren's Oscar Piastri picked up his second victory of the season, and more close racing is expected in the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday.

World champion Max Verstappen still has a 59-point advantage over Lando Norris in the standings but that lead continues to shrink and he has now gone seven races without a victory.

Norris finished ahead of Verstappen in Baku despite starting nine places behind him on the grid and this is one of the rare tracks at which the Dutch driver has never won.

With Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes all looking to keep Vertappen off the podium again, a fascinating race is in prospect around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Tip 1 - Charles Leclerc to win the race @ 4/1

Max Verstappen must be delighted that his rivals have been sharing the wins around during his barren spell.

If one driver had claimed the majority of the victories then his lead might have evaporated by now, but instead Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri each have two wins during his seven-race dry spell while Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and George Russell have one recent win each.

That pattern could continue with Red Bull's performances not expected to take a major step forward until the United States Grand Prix and Charles Leclerc looks a decent bet to claim the race victory this weekend.

Leclerc looked to be in line for his third win of the season after taking pole in Baku, but a bold overtaking move by Piastri and a lack of tyre performance forced him to settle for second place and he is now only 19 points behind Norris in the standings.

The Monegasque driver won his home race on the streets of Monte Carlo in May and the similar circuit in Singapore could play to his car's strengths again.

Leclerc was runner-up at Marina Bay in 2019 and 2022 and fourth last year, when his team won the race through Carlos Sainz.

He is the clear top dog at Ferrari at present, though, finishing ahead of Sainz in each of the last five races, and looks the main threat to race favourite Norris.

Norris has finished fourth and second at this race over the last two years but is not really a street-circuit specialist and McLaren have not won the race since Lewis Hamilton's victory in 2009.

Verstappen did not win in Singapore either time while dominating the championship in the last two seasons, finishing seventh in 2022, while his fifth place last year was the only time he didn't win in the final 18 races of the season.

Tip 2 - George Russell podium finish (1-3) @ 7/2

George Russell provided a spectacular finale to last season's Singapore race when crashing out on the final lap while still harbouring hopes of victory.

The Mercedes driver had qualified on the front row and could make his presence felt in the race again this year.

Russell's fifth place on the street circuit at Monaco was his joint-best result at that stage of the season and since then his team have continued to improve, with Russell and Silver Arrows team-mate Lewis Hamilton taking three wins between them.

The British star benefited from the late crash involving Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz to earn his third podium finish in the last nine races (not counting his disqualified win in Belgium) and he can make the top three again this week on his own merits.

Tip 3 - Pierre Gasly top-10 finish @ 4/1

Alpine have had a quiet couple of races with neither Pierre Gasly nor Esteban Ocon scoring points in either Italy or Azerbaijan – but they could get their total moving again in Singapore.

Gasly's first top-10 finish of the season came on a street circuit at Monaco and sparked an improved mid-season run that saw the Frenchman take points in four successive races.

He most recently added to his total at another more technical track in the Netherlands, finishing ninth, before lacking the top speed to challenge in Monza or Baku.

Gasly has an excellent record at this track, finishing eighth there for Toro Rosso in 2019, 10th for Alpha Tauri in 2022 and a superb sixth at Marina Bay for Alpine last season having qualified only 12th.

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