Can We Bet On The Austrian Grand Prix Being Explosive?

It's been a long time since F1 posed so many questions quite so quickly. Was Sebastian Vettel over-eager and churlish? Did Lewis Hamilton brake-test the championship leader? Have the FIA made a pig's ear of the entire affair? It's been like a quizzical blizzard and with very few reassuring answers a bet on the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend is just a little more risky than it appears. Sure, they might all get round that first lap, but the way this is shaping up you simply can't be sure they will.

Austrian Grand Prix

• 9th of July
• Red Bull Ring
• Spielberg
• Length – 4.326km
• Laps – 71
• Weather – Rain

Azerbaijan is now a legendary fixture on the F1 calendar having staged one of the classic Grand Prix of the modern era. In a race that had everything and then some extra on top ultimately it was the minor shunt between Ferrari and Mercedes during a safety car lap that has now blown up into a matter of importance for anyone who likes to bet on sports in Austria because if you're going to bet on the Austrian Grand Prix you'll have to understand the top two drivers have let the pressure get to them.

Perhaps then we should bet on the Austrian Grand Prix being calm the teams giving these two romper-suited posh boys chance to visit Vienna the home of psychotherapy, but I doubt we'll be so fortunate and that following Vettel's overly silly reaction to being pushed into an unforced error the pair will be all aggression and no common sense right up until one of them ends up in a crash barrier with a mouth full of tirewall. I'm not saying it won't be great telly, but those odds on Bet365? Not the whole story.

Did The FIA Fail To Show Strength?

On the day Sebastian Vettel got a ten second penalty which wasn't quite enough to let Hamilton by him and now,14 points ahead in the table, the German wasn't so stupid that he didn't make a full apology to the FIA for his behavior (which allowed them to basically let him off with no further punishment) and a more personal one to Hamilton. Unfortunately for all those of us about to bet on the Austrian Grand Prix this has seemed inadequate for Hamilton who has displayed a marked increase in displeasure.


FIA failing to punish Vettel further might have won favor from past champions like Nigel Mansell but Hamilton himself has accused them of showing a “lack of fibre” and indeed it does appear a tad limp-wristed, leaving Austrian gambling laws a mere minor consideration this weekend as what was a small bump on the road has turned into a full on pile-up. The FIA has always stood firm behind the rules, but appears not to back the spirit of them in this case, and what does that say of the future of F1?

Bet On The Austrian Grand Prix At Bet365

• Austrian GP 2017
• Lance Stroll – 500/1
• Esteban Ocon – 500/1
• Sergio Perez – 250/1
• Felipe Massa – 250/1
• Kimi Raikkonen – 25/1
• Daniel Ricciardo – 25/1
• Max Verstappen – 14/1
• Valtteri Bottas – 5/1
• Sebastian Vettel – 3/1
• Lewis Hamilton – 8/13

Long term there will be a debate about boundaries, about where racing tempers can be excused and where they can not. Vettel purposely driving into Hamilton, however harmlessly, showed a lack of judgement at the time that should possibly bar Vettel from driving a high performance race car for a while, but since that's not going to happen the chances are tempers will flare again and that could see both leaders off the track, as in Spain, before your bet on the Austrian Grand Prix has even got off the line.

Lewis Hamilton is still favorite at Bet365 on 8/13 but that's if he can keep it on the tarmac and Sebastian Vettel must be under some pressure because he's only garnering 3/1 in return with Valtteri Bottas on 5/1 and Max Verstappen even further back at 14/1 with this week's top tip being a podium finish from Daniel Ricciardo who so often seems to take advantage of the little tiffs between those ahead of him on the grid and if I were Austrian gambling news on Monday will be of a quiet race on Sunday in Spielberg, I'd go back to skiing.