Chinese Grand Prix: Insight and Betting Tips

Formula 1 rolls into Shanghai for the fifth stop on its 2024 world tour, the Chinese Grand Prix.

It is the series' first visit to the country since 2019 and for the first time ever the crowd will have a home driver to cheer for, in the shape of Sauber's Guanyu Zhou.

It has been a testing start to the season for the Chinese racer, whose car broke down last time out in Japan, and the main focus of attention will be at the other end of the grid.

World champion Max Verstappen is bidding for his fourth win of the season at a circuit that Red Bull tended to do well at even before they were the dominant team.

Verstappen is the long odds-on favourite for victory, but with teams going into the weekend blind at what is effectively a new circuit, coupled with the fact that this is a sprint-format weekend, the Dutchman has plenty of banana skins to negotiate.

Carlos Sainz top-three finish @ 17/20

As things stand, Carlos Sainz will be out of a job at the end of the season as he has been let go by Ferrari in favour of Lewis Hamilton from next year.

However, the Spaniard could hardly be doing any better at showcasing his skills to potential new employers.

Following a third-place finish in the season opener in Bahrain, he missed the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he was undergoing an appendectomy.

However, he bounced back in style two weeks later by winning the Australian Grand Prix, becoming - for the second time - the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since 2022.

The key to Sainz's form is that he has been doing a better job than his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc at getting his tyres into the perfect temperature range in qualifying. In Japan that made the difference between starting fourth, as he did, and qualifying down in eighth, where Leclerc started.

Although the Monegasque Ferrari driver utilised a brilliant strategy to climb to fourth in the race, that was not enough to get ahead of Sainz, who finished just eight seconds behind Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull.

That third-place finish was Sainz's third podium appearance in three outings this season, and there is no reason why he should not keep up that record in China.

Nico Hulkenberg top-ten finish @ 7/4

The Haas team finished bottom of the pile in the constructors' championship last season despite scoring 12 points, but the American-owned outfit will be eyeing a loftier finish this year having already picked up three points finishes from the first four races.

The early part of the season has seen the top five teams - Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin - enjoy a considerable advantage over the bottom half of the field, and that has meant points have been hard to come by for F1's lesser lights.

But Haas and RB have been able to take advantage when the big boys have stumbled, with both Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen contributing points.

Hulkenberg finished tenth in Saudi Arabia and ninth in Australia, and only just missed out in Japan last time out, finishing 11th after overtaking a fading Lance Stroll in the late stages.

An unconventional weekend format with just an hour of practice before sprint qualifying, plus unfamiliarity with the circuit could shake up the order this weekend, and having two veteran drivers should stand Haas in good stead.

Hulkenberg should again be sniffing round the lower reaches of the top 10 and looks a decent bet to record his third points finish in four outings.

Under 17.5 finishers @ 6/5

The first race of the season in Bahrain remarkably saw all 20 drivers complete the race, but the field have not achieved another 100% record since then.

In Saudi Arabia 18 reached the finish, while in Australia Verstappen and Hamilton both suffered car failures while Logan Sargeant unluckily didn't get to start the race.

There was more woe in Japan as Alex Albon and Daniel Ricciardo collided on the opening lap, while Zhou's car conked out after 12 laps.

This promises to be a tough weekend for the drivers, who have little time to familiarise themselves with the track before they have to go full pelt in sprint qualifying.

This race traditionally sees a lot of overtaking, which increases the potential for accidents, while the opening sequence of tightening right-handers also sees the field competing for space.

All-in-all there is plenty of scope for at least three cars failing to reach the chequered flag.