The jewel in the Formula 1 crown, the Monaco Grand Prix is the race all drivers want to win. Whilst the cars have well and truly outgrown the famous street circuit, there is still something magical about the Monaco Grand Prix.
This year, the teams head to Monaco straight after finishing up at the Spanish Grand Prix, which saw Max Verstappen take the lead in the Driver’s Championship, as he took his 4th win of the season and third in a row. This was after Leclerc looked destined to take the win, only for his engine to break, leaving the Monegasque shattered. Can the Ferrari driver get over this heartbreak and get back into the winner’s circle, or will Verstappen continue his momentum?
2022 Monaco Grand Prix Betting Tips
Monaco, Sunday 29th May, 11.00pm (AEST)
Spanish Grand Prix Review
Our man Leclerc was fastest in every session heading into qualifying, before snatching Pole Position by a sensational 0.323s ahead of Verstappen. Qualifying also confirmed the return of Mercedes, with George Russell lining up 4th and Lewis Hamilton 6th. With the porpoising issues seemingly behind them, Mercedes appears to be a threat moving forward.
In the race, Leclerc shot out to an early lead from Verstappen and took control early. Elsewhere, after a poor getaway Hamilton collided with Kevin Magnusson, sending the pair to the back of the pack after both needed pitstops. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen both suffered from gusts of wind, sending them both off the track at turn 4, losing multiple positions. After this, Verstappen’s DRS decided it didn’t want to work, making life extremely difficult for the Dutchman.
After early pitstops, Leclerc led by over 13 seconds, before his power unit gave up, costing Leclerc an almost certain victory. After this, Red Bull were able to manipulate their strategies to help Verstappen get back into first, with Perez following him home in yet another Red Bull 1-2. George Russell finished 3rd to take his 2nd podium of the season, once again outperforming Hamilton in the same machinery.
Monaco Grand Prix Betting Tips
Casting our eye back 12 months, Ferrari showed tremendous pace in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, with Leclerc taking Pole Position. However, Leclerc crashed at the end of Q3, with the damage caused to his Ferrari ruling him out of the race altogether. The pace of the Ferrari is the crucial thing, given Ferrari were so far behind Red Bull and Mercedes heading into the Monaco Grand Prix, the pace shown by them was surprising. It bodes well for their chances here this weekend, and the bookies agree, listing Leclerc as the clear favourite to win.
Looking at other drivers who have excelled at the Principality, Valteri Bottas has always been close to Lewis Hamilton around this circuit, and the Alfa Romeo should be well suited to this track, with exceptional performance in slow to medium speed corners compared to its midfield competitors. I expect Bottas to be in and around that Top 6 battle again, and with any sort of carnage he is a shot at a podium.
Pierre Gasly has had a poor season to date and needs to turn things around quickly. He’s currently in 13th place in the standings on 6 points, 5 points behind his less experienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda. Because of this, Gasly’s prices have skyrocketed, and I believe now is the time to jump on board. Gasly has consistently qualified and raced well in Monaco and should be well in the fight for a points finish this weekend.
George Russell is another who has outperformed expectations at the Monaco Grand Prix, and finally in a car that can highlight this, my position will be strong on the Brit this weekend. The updates to the Mercedes car make it look much easier to drive, and Russell’s ability to extract everything from the car in qualifying gives him a great shot at winning the race in my opinion, much better than his odds suggest.
Building a bit of a portfolio this weekend as we are taking a couple of long shots, so plenty of bets with low staking, hoping for a first career victory for Russell. Will hedge the Russell bets with Leclerc, as he looks the best chance to win the race, however the value lies with Russell. I’ll also take a flyer on Sergio Perez to win the race, this is based purely on the price at Betfair, which is absurd.
Charles Leclerc (Pole Position) - $2.10 @ Betfair (1.5u)
George Russell (Pole Position & Win) - $67 @ Bet365 (0.5u)
Sergio Perez (Race Winner) - $36 @ Betfair (0.5u)
Carlos Sainz (Podium Finish) - $2.12 @ Palmerbet (1.5u)
George Russell (Podium Finish) - $3.35 @ Pointsbet (2u)
Valteri Bottas (Podium Finish) - $11 @ Unibet (0.5u)
Pierre Gasly (Top 10 Finish) - $2.4 @ NEDS (1.5u)
Charles Leclerc to win
$2.30 (2 Units)
