Matt Selz
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Circuit Paul Ricard is the host venue for Round 12 of the 2022 F1 season. Le Castellet returned to the F1 schedule in 2018 and it’s been a great return since then. The 15-turn, 3.6-mile (5.84 km) layout has a great mix of straights, high-, medium-, and low-speed corners that give the drivers a ton of chances to overtake in a variety of ways. So as the F1 schedule enjoys its time near the sunny and hot French Riviera, let’s take a look at some of the best betting strategies and bets for the Formula 1 Lenovo Grand Prix de France 2022 from Circuit Paul Ricard.
F1 French Grand Prix odds
Below are the odds for the outright winner of the French Grand Prix, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
Max Verstappen +130
Charles Leclerc +130
Lewis Hamilton +900
George Russell +1600
Sergio Perez +1900
Carlos Sainz +2400
Lando Norris +14000
French Grand Prix Betting Strategies
Unlike several of the latest Grand Prix tracks, this one has more chances for overtaking than most. If a driver is daring, there are a bunch of passing areas on the layout depending on how late or early a driver wants to brake into a corner. There are also two DRS zones per lap which should help heading down the front and back straights. One thing we’ve heard from drivers this weekend is that tire degradation will be a factor in this race. While last year it wasn’t much of an issue, the new cars and lower ride heights this year have been punishing the tires more. If you’ve seen any action at this track previously, you’ll have noticed the copious amount of run-off area nearly everywhere on the track. Be forewarned that if a driver gets into the run-off area, the tires will be affected as the blue and red paint stripes are designed to be like sandpaper and catch the car before it hits the wall. All of this is to say that the race might be determined by who can set up the strategy the best for late in the race rather than who has the purely fastest car.
2022 French Grand Prix Outright Winners
All odds listed came from FanDuel Sportsbook at the time of publishing.
Charles Leclerc (+125)
It’s been two races in a row with a win for the Scuderia. First at Silverstone and then in Austria where Leclerc was atop the podium for the first time since Australia. This weekend, the Ferraris look fast again. They also look like the most well-balanced cars on track through the first two practices of the weekend. There are a couple of things of concern here as Ferrari still hasn’t had the best race strategy in the past and Leclerc seemed to have higher than average tire degradation in practice as well. If they can manage those things successfully, it could be another big weekend for the young Ferrari star.
Max Verstappen (+125)
Verstappen hasn’t always been the fastest car on race weekend, but has capitalized on others’ mistakes. That could be the case again this weekend. He’s been trailing one or both of the Ferraris in speed in both FP1 and FP2 but is close to pouncing on them. There’s also the matter of race strategy going the way of Verstappen to this point. If Ferrari has another reliability issue or strategy mistake, there’s plenty of speed for Verstappen to run away and hide from the Scuderi duo and notch yet another win.
Carlos Sainz (+2500)
Hold on a second, why is Sainz a recommended bet? Hasn’t he had car issues nearly every week? Yes, he’s had some car issues, including catching fire last race in Austria. However, the speed is there again for him this weekend as he ran P1 in FP2 by a tenth of a second of his teammate. It’s also the case that it’s a new power unit for him. That does mean he has a 10-spot penalty to start the race, but with a track where overtaking is possible and a car that’s been lightning quick, he can move up here. We’ve seen Ferrari willing to give wins to Sainz over Leclerc when he has the race pace to stay ahead, that could happen this weekend if they find themselves atop the speed charts.
Best Props For the F1 French Grand Prix
Pierre Gasly Top-6 Finish (+330)
It’s his home race. He’s fast. He knows how to overtake. Is that enough reasoning to bet on Gasly this weekend? I get it, there’s only one top-six finish for him this year — Azerbaijan — however, the ability to show off for the home fans has to play a role in this bet. It’s also the car that this isn’t a +100 or something bet, the 3.3x return indicates there’s a bit more risk here. However, running an average of P6 in FP1 and FP2 and improving his finishes each time he’s been here points to this being a tasty bet.
Kevin Magnussen Top-10 Finish (+130)
Magnussen is coming in off of back-to-back top-10s at Silverstone and Austria to give him five on the year. Now he’s showing top-10 speed this weekend. In the previous races in which he’s shown that kind of speed and kept the car clean, he’s finished in the top half of the field. Let’s not forget, he’s finished top-six here before as well.
Lando Norris Top-6 Finish (+165)
Things have been a work in progress for McLaren this year to this point. This weekend they’ve brought new side pods on their cars. It’s hard to say it’s made a distinct difference in the speed of the cars, but Norris did run P7 in FP1 and P6 in FP2 on Friday. That comes along with finishing P7 or better six times this year and P9 or better eight times. Add that he got better between the first time he ran Circuit Paul Ricard and the second — finishing P5 last year — and we’ve got a nice return coming our way on this one.
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