British Grand Prix odds: Bookies fear Lewis Hamilton factor

Hamilton in Canada — Photo: © LAT Images

British Grand Prix

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British Grand Prix odds: Bookies fear Lewis Hamilton factor

It's all about #44 as sportsbooks get ready for patriotic plunge

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Thursday 30 June 2022 13:40

The British Grand Prix weekend should be a bonanza for UK bookmakers, but the latest odds tell you they are not giving anything away.

The chances of a home success at Silverstone on Sunday looks pretty remote with Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell clearly driving the third-best car on the grid as Red Bull and Ferrari continue to impress at the front.

It would take a reliability disaster from Red Bull and Ferrari to imagine either Hamilton or Russell topping the podium late on Sunday afternoon, but bookmakers are not taking any chances.

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Fair to say what they are offering right now qualifies as “super-skinny”, with a patriotic plunge on the seven-time champion expected. But there are a few bets that we like the look of.

Here is where things stand heading towards a huge three days of action at Silverstone.

Odds to win the British Grand Prix

Hamilton is just 9/1 to land an unlikely ninth victory at his home race - much shorter than he has traded ahead of recent Grand Prix weekends.

Russell meanwhile is bigger at 10/1 despite consistently outperforming his team-mate. Bookies want loyal Lewis fans to bet, but they fear the number 44 too.

Latest odds from Sky Bet (correct at time of writing) are:

1/1 Max Verstappen
9/4 Charles Leclerc
7/1 Sergio Perez
9/1 Lewis Hamilton
9/1 Carlos Sainz
10/1 George Russell

No surprise here but it is literally a six-horse race - every other driver is 100/1 or bigger.

Lewis Hamilton British Grand Prix special bets

You’d expect bookmakers to offer a ton of special bets on Hamilton, to entice that adoring fanbase to hand over their hard-earned cash. And they did not disappoint.

Here are a few of the options at bigger prices which caught our eye:

28/1 Hamilton to win & Verstappen to be fastest qualifier
40/1 Hamilton/Russell 1-2 in any order
33/1 Russell to win & Hamilton podium

The one we actually do like - relatively short odds but shorter on risk too - is the 13/8 on offer for Hamilton and Russell to place in the top 6 and fellow Brit Lando Norris [McLaren] to finish in the points.

Red Bull vs Ferrari the real fight

While the nostalgic talk of a British winner is all well and good, reality suggests it will be a Red Bull or Ferrari leading the way when the chequered flag is saved on Sunday afternoon.

Max Verstappen has been utterly dominant in recent races, winning five of the last six to build a 46-point lead in the title race. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc meanwhile absolutely has the speed to win, but has been badly hampered by reliability issues in recent races.

If you fancy either man to dominate on Sunday, the odds around the finishing margins are pretty tasty. Verstappen is 9/4 to win by 10+ seconds, 5/1 to score by 20+ and 10/1 for 30+ seconds.

For Leclerc meanwhile you can grab 9/2, 9/1 or 18/1 respectively for those three outcomes.

If you are convinced that Verstappen and Leclerc will fill the first two finishing positions, then you can bet the Dual Forecast for 6/5.

Good luck with your bets and enjoy the race!

[All odds Sky Bet, correct at time of writing]