The Spanish Grand Prix is a Formula One race held annually at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world that is still being contested. It celebrated it centenary in 2013 and it has been a part of the Formula One World Championship since 1968.
Legendary German river Michael Schumacher is the winningest driver in this race with a total of six wins. Current world champion Lewis Hamilton is next in the leaderboard with a total of four wins here. Hamilton has won the last three installments of the Spanish Grand Prix. No current driver has won the race more than one time and only Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and Kimi Raikkonen are the current drivers to take the chequered flag in Spain.
This year’s race is the 61st running of the race. It will be held on August 16, 2020, and will be raced over 66 laps around the 4,655 km circuit.
Here is the official schedule for the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix:
During last Weekend’s 70th Anniversary Race, Red Bulls’ Max Verstappen became the first non-Mercedes driver to win a race this season. Verstappen edged out the Mercedes tandem of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas to steal the race in Hamilton’s home track of Silverstone.
Verstappen was the only driver in the Top 10 starting on hard tires. From P4, he went to P3 by Turn one and then passed Nico Hulkenberg right after. He maintained that pace before taking the lead from Bottas with a nice move around Luffield. Verstappen then raced to his first win since the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix and Red Bull’s first at Silverstone since 2012.
Lewis Hamilton finished in second place after a late-surge that allowed him to pass teammate Bottas. Meanwhile, Bottas failed to capitalize on a Silverstone pole for the second time in three years as he was relegated to third place after Verstappen and Hamilton. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished fourth while Alexander Albon took fifth place.
Here is the current leaderboard for the 2020 Formula One World Championship:
Despite finishing second, Hamilton still has a good 30 point-lead in the driver’s standings. Verstappen has supplanted Bottas in second place by four points while Leclerc is a far fourth with 34 points earned this year.
Hamilton is once again the odds on favorite to win the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix. Here are the current odds to win the race. These odds were taken from BetOnline as of 08/12/2020:
Lewis Hamilton is having another fantastic season. The current world champion is on top of the driver’s standings and has a comfortable 30 point lead after five races. Hamilton started the season with a 4th place finish at the Austrian Grand Prix but he won the next three races before finishing second in last weekend’s 70th Anniversary Race. Hamilton has four wins in Spain and he has 8 Top 5 finishes in 13 starts at this race track. Hamilton has won this race in the last three years and his average starting position of 4.8 is the best among the current crop of drivers.
Valtteri Bottas finished second to Hamilton in last year’s championship. The Finn won the first race of the current season and has three Top 3 finishes in three out of the other four races completed this year. Bottas had pole position last week but could only finish third in the 70th Anniversary race. He has five Top 10 finishes in seven starts in Catalunya. He has finished in the Top 5 of this race in five out of the last six years, including back to back 2nd place finishes in 2018 and 2019. Bottas started from pole position here last year and he will be looking to get back in the title race with a win here.
Max Verstappen ended Mercedes’ monopoly last weekend. The Belgian-Dutch driver from Red Bull took the 70th Anniversary race and beat out the two Mercedes drivers. Verstappen finished third in last season’s championship but is looking to do better this year. Verstappen had a disappointing start this year as he didn’t finish the Austrian Grand Prix. However, he has finished inside the top 3 in the last four races including a win last week. Verstappen has three Top 5 finishes in five starts at Catalunya. He won this race in 2016 and has finished in third place in the previous two seasons.
Charles Leclerc is coming off a 4th place finish at the 70th Anniversary race. Ferrari’s second-year man has three Top 4 finishes in the first five races of the season. Leclerc is only 4th in the current driver’s standings and he is looking to move up with a big performance in Spain. Leclerc only has two starts in Catalunya and last year, he finished 5th after starting in the same position.
Sergio Perez has fallen to 8th in the current driver’s standings after withdrawing from the British Grand Prix and not racing in the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Perez tested positive for the COVID-19 virus after returning to Mexico to visit his mother in between the races in Hungary and Britain. Racing Point boss Otmar Szafneur told ESPN last week that Perez will be 99% back in the race. Perez’s best finish here was 4th in 2017 and he placed 15th last year. But by joining his home race, Perez is one of the betting favorites here.
The oddsmakers think that this is a three-way race and I agree. The first five races have been won by these three drivers and it looks like they are way ahead of the field right now. Hamilton is the solid favorite here as he has not only been dominant this season but he has won this race in the last three years. He is also coming off a defeat at Silverstone and knowing Hamilton’s nature, he wants to get back at Verstappen for winning in his race track.
Bottas has been solid this season but it seems that Hamilton is always one step ahead of him. He has back to back second-place finishes here and he also started from pole position in 2019. Bottas likes this racetrack and he is a good pick here as well.
Verstappen won this race in 2017 and he has finished inside the Top 5 in three of five starts here. He is also on a roll this season with Top 3 finishes in the last four races including a win at Silverstone last week. No question, Max is on a roll heading to Spain and at +400, he does have very good betting value.
Sebastian Vettel is the second most successful current driver in this race track but the German continues to struggle this season. He’s not even in the Top 10 of the current odds but if someone will spring out a surprise, it could be him. He has finished in the Top 4 in his last seven starts. He has finished 6th or better here since 2008.
When it comes to winning though, there is no reason to doubt Hamilton. Lewis Hamilton is the safe bet here but you can also roll with Max Verstappen.
Prediction: Lewis Hamilton
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