Italian Grand Prix Betting Tips
The 2024 Formula 1 World Championship looks to be heading towards a more dramatic climax than many suspected for most of the season as the drivers go to Monza this week for the Italian Grand Prix.
World champion Max Verstappen still has a healthy advantage of 70 points over Lando Norris in this year's standings but has now gone five races without a victory in his worst spell of form for three seasons.
The Red Bull star minimised the damage done by Norris's clear-cut victory at Zandvoort last week by finishing second, but he was more than 22 seconds behind at the line despite taking the lead at the start.
Verstappen has won at Monza in each of the last two seasons, but has now won fewer than half of the first 15 races of the season and doubts about whether he can fend off the charging McLaren man may be starting to creep in.
Tip 1 - Lando Norris to win race @ Evens
Lando Norris had been going through a frustrating period of not converting his car's potential into wins but he made no mistake with his clear-cut success in the Netherlands.
The McLarens were fast from the start in practice, Norris outqualified Verstappen by a clear margin and then the British driver pulled clear of the world champion in the race with little fuss despite making another of his slow starts and losing the lead at the first corner.
It was something of a statement win in the course of the season with Verstappen complaining of poor balance and not able to make his car's tyres last as long as McLaren could.
The Dutchman was fortunate not to lose more points to his title rival as the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri looked to have the pace to complete a one-two finish for the team but also lost ground at the start and got stuck in traffic, finishing only fourth.
With no miracle cure for the Red Bull's ills being imminent, McLaren should have the upper hand once more in Monza and Norris looks the more likely driver to deliver after Piastri's subdued Sunday show at Zandvoort.
Tip 2 - Charles Leclerc podium finish (1-3) @ 7/4
Ferrari have timed their latest major upgrade package to arrive at their home race and Charles Leclerc has an excellent chance of making the podium in Monza after his strong drive to take third place in the Netherlands.
Leclerc was less than three seconds behind Verstappen as they crossed the line last week and the team look to be moving in the right direction again having faded a little after making a fast start to the season.
The Monegasque driver was in the first four at the opening eight rounds of the season, culminating in his emotional home win in Monte Carlo in May, but he had a poor run in the midsummer races before getting back to form with a fourth and two thirds in the last three rounds.
If the new parts Ferrari are taking to their home race make a noticeable difference, Leclerc could even be in the hunt for race wins again.
Targeting a top-three finish is probably more sensible at this stage in their development, though.
Leclerc delivered the Italian team's first home win for nine years in the 2019 edition of this race and has been fourth, second and fourth in the last three runnings.
Ferrari came to life on Sunday at Zandvoort as Leclerc started sixth and finished third and teammate Carlos Sainz was fifth after starting 10th on the grid and they can continue their improvement on home territory.
Tip 3 - Alex Albon top-eight finish @ 5/2
The Williams team will not have fond memories of their weekend in the Netherlands. Logan Sargeant smashed his new car into pieces in the third practice session, forcing him to miss qualifying.
Things looked to be going much better for their other car, driven by Alex Albon, who claimed an impressive eighth on the grid after some upgraded parts proved successful.
Albon was not able to take his place on the fourth row of the grid, though, as his new car failed a technical inspection after qualifying and he was disqualified from the session and forced to start in 19th place.
He made the best of a tough task to climb five places in the race and finish 14th, but was never able to properly show the pace he might have had if he was running with the stronger teams.
Compensation could await in Monza as the Williams has often impressed at low-downforce circuits and a third points finish of the year for Albon could be on the cards.
Albon was sixth at Monza in his second race for the Red Bull team in 2019 and an excellent seventh there for Williams last year in what proved to be his joint-best finish of the season.
The Thai driver is 9/10 to make the top 10 but BetMGM also offer prices on a top-eight finish and it may be worth taking Albon at 5/2 in that market for an improved payout.