Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg is the auto racing betting favorite to win the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix on July 3rd, 2016 thanks to his dominant performance at the European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan. The German racer lead every lap – including fastest lap – from the pole position for his fifth victory of the season and second career Grand Slam – the first took place at the Russian Grand Prix, which coincidentally had been his last win of the 2016 campaign. Rosberg had, willingly or not, ceded the spotlight to his teammate Lewis Hamilton, especially in Monaco and Canada. But he came back with a vengeance to solidify his spot at the top of the standings with 141 points (Hamilton is second with 117).
Online betting odds of winning the Austrian Grand Prix:
Daniel Ricciardo +1600
Felipe Massa +6000
Kimi Raikkonen +2500
Lewis Hamilton +125
Max Verstappen +2000
Nico Hulkenberg +6000
Nico Rosberg +160
Sebastien Vettel +600
Sergio Perez +5000
Valtteri Bottas +5000
FIELD (Any Other) +5000
The motorsport circuit in Spielberg, Styria, Austria may be called the Red Bull Ring, but that does not mean that the beverage company-owned racing team should be considered auto racing betting favorites. As a matter of fact, Rosberg believes that Williams’s Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will be a bigger threat to Mercedes Benz than Red Bull – or Ferrari, for that matter. Since the Austrian Grand Prix returned to the F1 calendar in 2014, Rosberg has been the man to beat.
However, Bottas is not unfamiliar with Austria either, which is where he got his Formula 1 podium. And Massa finished in 3rd place last year behind Rosberg and Hamilton. Could the tables be turned this year? Auto racing betting odds do not seem to indicate that, but that’s why wagering on an underdog can be so potentially rewarding.
Online betting fans should know that many drivers are choosing to go soft on the fast and fluid Red Bull Ring. Pirelli has made the three softest compounds available – the yellow marked soft, red supersoft, and the purple ultrasoft. Hamilton and Rosberg have selected three and four sets of the supersofts, and two and one sets of the soft compound, respectively.
Meanwhile, Massa will take four sets of supersoft tire and two sets of soft tires, and Bottas will go with four sets of supersofts and just one set of softs. According to Pirelli, each driver must use either the yellow marked soft or red marked supersoft during the race and have both compounds available prior to racing. How will this affect the performances of the auto racing betting favorites to win the Austrian Grand Prix? We will find that out on Sunday, July 3rd.