For the upcoming race weekend in Formula 1 we are headed to Austria where round 10 of the 2023 championship takes place! Following a rather chaotic race in Canada two weeks ago, Austria is sure to provide even more excitement as it is one of the most fun tracks to race on when it comes to Formula 1.
Even more so because of the fact that the top teams including Mercedes and Ferrari are bringing upgrades for this weekend’s race that could potentially challenge Red Bull. Can Ferrari’s upgrades help them repeat last year’s success and put a dent in Red Bull’s lead? Or will we see Max Verstappen storm off into the distance once more? UK bookmaker William Hill has the latest odds!
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 27th, 4:00 A.M. (EST)
The odds for this weekend’s race show just how important consistency is in Formula 1. Max Verstappen, as usual, is the absolute favourite to win this weekend’s race, being priced at only 1.33. His teammate, Sergio Perez, who has the same dominant car as Max, is now priced at a staggering 9.00. That is to say that Fernando Alonso in an Aston Martin has better odds at winning this week’s race.
After looking at Checo’s results in the last 2-3 races, it becomes clear as to why the bookmakers favour Alonso over him. Truth be told, Checo’s form recently has been below average. Failing to qualify for Q3 weekend in and weekend out, failing to make significant gains in the race and often crashing, all add to the fact that Perez is having a hard time with his Red Bull car. Some even suggested that his seat at Red Bull could be in danger as Helmut Marko is looking elsewhere to replace the Mexican’s poor pace.
The Circuit
Perhaps one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1, the Red Bull Ring, home to the Red Bull Racing team, is a circuit everyone adores. Even though it’s not one of the longer circuits on the F1 calendar, the Red Bull Ring makes up for it with 3 long straights that reward power and raw speed. Followed by a series of quick corners, the track provides a unique challenge for drivers and teams alike.
The track itself is a 4.318 km long circuit with only 10 corners but with 3 DRS zones. The race features 71 laps and the current lap record is held by Carlos Sainz at 1:05:619, set in 2020. Some of the previous race winners at this track include Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc among others.
What to Expect?
Going into this race weekend, there is a lot going on off-track that is bound to have a profound effect on the race track. Starting off with Ferrari. The Maranello-based team announced earlier this week that they finally “understand” the SF-23 challenger and know in which direction to work in, in order to challenge Red Bull. That being said, it is expected that Ferrari will bring some upgrades to the Red Bull Ring, but the significant changes will be introduced only later on in the season. Nevertheless, Ferrari is expecting a strong race weekend and expressed a clear desire to fight for a podium finish this week.
Another on track battle to watch out for is the one between Aston Martin and Mercedes. With both teams introducing upgrades back in Canada, they are now more or less on the same level pace-wise. It will be interesting to see whether Ferrari can compete with the aforementioned teams as well, making it a three-way on-track battle for the ultimate excitement.
Last but not least, it is worth watching out for Alpha Tauri’s Nyck de Vries and Williams’ Logan Sargeant. Both drivers were in the crosshairs of recent criticism with media reports suggesting their seats in F1 could very well be in danger. The potential candidates to replace them? Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher. Could we see these drivers return to the F1 grid for 2024?
