F1 Spanish GP odds: Why this weekend’s biggest race is on Saturday

Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc after qualifiying in Miami — Photo: © LAT Images

Spanish Grand Prix

F1 Spanish GP odds: Why this weekend’s biggest race is on Saturday

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OddsCritic

Friday 20 May 2022 10:50

All eyes in the F1 world are now trained on Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ahead of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

The most important race of the weekend, however, will take place 24 hours before lights out, with Saturday’s vital battle for pole position.

Don’t take our word for it, look at the stats.

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When you think of pole being all-important in the world of F1 odds, you probably think of tracks like Monaco right away, but there is one circuit above all where starting P1 is crucial. Yep, it’s Barcelona.

How often does pole position win the Spanish GP?

A lot is the answer - some 74 per cent of the time per our friends at F1 Statsguru. They crunched the numbers for all current circuits to have staged at least five races, and the results are fascinating.

Barcelona leads the way at the very top, and while you might not be surprised to see Singapore close behind, Monaco does not even get close to cracking the top five.

If you thought Monaco's winner was usually decided on a Saturday, think again.

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has the highest pole-to-win conversion rate amongst the current circuits with 7️⃣4️⃣% of the pole-sitters going on to win the race.#F1 #SpanishGP pic.twitter.com/b2PoWIbRot
— F1 StatsGuru (@f1statsguru) May 17, 2022

As for the track with the lowest percentage for converting poles to wins, that would be Imola with just 33 per cent. After that, we have iconic calendar mainstays Monza, Silverstone and Spa.

Spanish GP fastest qualifier odds

So, what are the actual odds to claim pole in Barcelona on Saturday afternoon?

As you might expect, it is terribly tight at the top with title rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc virtually locked together. Right now the Red Bull driver has the edge, but only just:

• 6-5 Max Verstappen (Widely available) • 5-4 Charles Leclerc (Sky Bet) • 8-1 Carlos Sainz (Widely available) • 16-1 Sergio Perez (Widely available) • 35-1 George Russell (Sporting Index) • 35-1 Lewis Hamilton (Sporting Index) • 80-1 Lando Norris (bet365) • 100-1 Valtteri Botttas (Sky Bet)

Request A Bet: Wild Spanish GP wagers at huge odds

The latest sports betting craze in the UK right now is called ‘Request A Bet’, meaning anybody [even you or me] can ask for odds on something happening.

That means that during every grand prix week we see some wild and wonderful predictions actually become available to bet on. The odds go from pretty small to ridiculously big.

We love to keep track of some of the more exotic predictions, and here are just a few being offered by UK sportsbook Sky Bet ahead of this weekend’s action:

• 33-1 Verstappen to win, Russell top-six finish, Zhou first driver to retire • 50-1 Leclerc to win, Russell podium, Albon points finish • 450-1 Hamilton to win, Alonso podium, Bottas points finish

Remember people, just because you ask for something to happen, doesn’t mean it will.

When the odds on something are huge, there is generally a pretty good reason!