French Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel was left fuming in Canada after he passed the chequered flag first, but he received a five-second penalty after pushing Lewis Hamilton off the track when returning to the circuit, demoting himself to second place in the process. He clearly feels he, and Ferrari, should have had their first victory of the season, but instead they enter the French Grand Prix with a sour taste sill in the mouth.

This was a regular fixture in the calendar up until 2009 and Ferrari use to dominate proceedings. However, it was held at Magny-Cours back then, but in its return last year, the Paul Ricard circuit just outside Marseille was used and Lewis Hamilton was the victor.

Lewis Hamilton – Fastest Lap at 5.00*

The Brit’s success last week was his fifth this season as he’s tightened his grip on a sixth world championship. His race day mentality and performance mean he’s the obvious winner, but this track has similarities to Montreal, with plenty of long straights, so in theory should suit the Prancing Horse, so we’ll lave the favourite alone at odds-on.

Although it’s not been going well for them on race days, Ferrari have generally done well in qualification. On similar tracks – Montreal, Baku and Bahrain – they’ve twice poled (Canada and Bahrain) and produced the fasted lap in Azerbaijan, and with this in mind, we’ll side with the Italian Manufacturer to take pole this week.

Winning Team: Ferrari at 4.40*

Away from the leaders, Renault had their best team performance of the season in Canada as both their drivers finished in the points for the first time this season.

After finishing fourth in qualification, Daniel Riccardo finished sixth in the race and teammate Nico Hulkenberg was just one place further back. As the Aussie went faster than his teammate in the first practice, we’ll side with him to go back-to-back top six finishes.

Daniel Riccardo Top 6 Finish at 3.50*

*all odds are subject to change