Max Verstappen’s dominance will force bettors to look to the side markets for value at the British Grand Prix.
Five consecutive victories for Max Verstappen - and 10 for his Red Bull team - is enough to once again leave punters looking to the side markets for value plays at this weekend's British Grand Prix.
Verstappen, unbeaten since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in April, is the 1/3 favourite to triumph at Silverstone, another track that should play to the strengths of the low-drag, high-efficiency RB19 chassis.
Last year's British race was one of the few that didn't go Verstappen's way in his dominant 2022 championship-winning season, the Dutchman only managing seventh place after suffering bodywork damage early in the race and losing considerable pace.
The driver to take advantage of Verstappen's woes that day was Carlos Sainz, who capitalised on a late safety-car period to pit for fresh soft tyres, passing his Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc with nine laps remaining to secure a popular win.
It remains Sainz's sole victory in F1, however, and the Spaniard's price of 28/1 to repeat the result is reflective of both his and his team's struggles to cope with the Red Bull juggernaut this season.
In the vain pursuit of the Austrian team, the performance pendulum has swung between Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mercedes over the last few races.
Ferrari seems to be hitting something of a sweet spot, their 26-point haul for second and sixth places at Spielberg last time out representing their best result of the season so far.
The long-duration turns and abrasive surface of the Silverstone track, however, raise question marks about how Ferrari will cope with tyre degradation across long stints.
This might be an area in which Mercedes or even Aston Martin can take advantage, even if they are out-qualified by Leclerc and Sainz.
If anyone can overcome a machinery performance deficit it's Lewis Hamilton, who has won at Silverstone a record eight times.
He's a 12/1 chance to make it nine, a feat which looks optimistic without the randomising variable of rain, which current forecasts suggest isn't expected on Sunday.
Hamilton endured a testing Austrian Grand Prix last weekend, duelling with Sainz's Ferrari but ultimately falling off the pace with balance issues. He attracted two-time penalties for ignoring track limits and was eventually classified as eighth.
This Sunday should see a more competitive showing for the Silverstone legend - Hamilton is a sensible 5/4 shot for a podium - but victory is likely to prove elusive.
In the absence of a big price to speculate on, the 4/6 on Sergio Perez to bring home his Red Bull in the top three looks a fair bet.
Perez has made things hard for himself in recent races, finding himself stranded towards the back of the grid and having to fight his way through the field on race day.
