What is the second fastest team in Formula 1?
That’s a big question ahead of Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix (2 p.m. ET, ABC). We all know now that Red Bull are the dominant team this season and they will stay in that position barring disaster. But the fight for second place in the constructors’ standings is intriguing. Especially after the Spanish Grand Prix.
Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and George Russell completed the podium places behind Max Verstappen in Barcelona to propel Mercedes into the best of the rest in the standings. Aston Martin had been the No. 2 team thanks to the excellence of Fernando Alonso, but Alonso had his slowest run of the season in his home country.
The Spanish Grand Prix felt like a validation of the Mercedes improvements that debuted in Monaco and showed that Ferrari still had work to do. Charles Leclerc struggled after starting from the back of the field and Carlos Sainz had no speed to match the Red Bull or Mercedes cars.
Aston Martin looks set to deliver updates at the Canadian Grand Prix as Alonso chases his first F1 win since 2013. Alonso has scored five podium finishes in the first seven races of 2023 after only securing three podiums combined over his last seven years on the show.
If Aston Martin’s upgrades look more like Mercedes and less like Ferrari, then the team will be in the running just behind Verstappen on Sunday. And that could set up a big battle for second place unless Sergio Perez has the pace to match Verstappen.
Perez enters Sunday’s race as the No. 2 favorite at +500 behind Verstappen at -275 while Hamilton is at +800, Russell is at +1200 and Alonso is at +1400. Mercedes have finished on the podium in each of the last eight Canadian Grand Prix races while Hamilton has won seven career victories on the track.
If you prefer to bet on a manufacturer, there is no value unless you pick a non-Red Bull winner. Red Bull is at -700 to win the race while the rest of the field is at +400. Mercedes are the No. 2 favorite to produce the winner at +600.
Here are some BetMGM bets we like for the Canadian Grand Prix weekend.
Lando Norris finishes in the top 10 (-140)
Norris made an excellent qualifying effort in Spain which was ruined after first-lap contact with Hamilton forced him to fight for a new front wing. Norris should be lucky and have a solid finish and McLaren’s speed should continue in Montreal.
Esteban Ocon ahead of Pierre Gasly (-125)
Ocon has edged Gasly in each of the last two races. We’ll go with three in a row as Ocon beats Gasly for the fourth time this season.
Lewis Hamilton ahead of Fernando Alonso (-110)
We go with the excellence of Hamilton in Montreal on the unknown of Aston Martin upgrades here. It should also be noted that there is a bit of incongruity in BetMGM’s head-to-head matchups. Alonso is the favorite in this one at -125, but if you bet Mercedes vs. Aston Martin in a head-to-head clash, Mercedes is the favorite at -135.
Alex Albon is ahead of Zhou Guanyu (+100)
We’re going with the underdog in this one. Albon has exceeded expectations this season and Williams has decent straight-line speed. This will be important on a full-throttle track for much of the lap.
Verstappen and Hamilton both finish in the top three (+125)
Since we’re going with Hamilton to beat Alonso, we might as well support that with this bet as well.