F1 Chinese GP Race Guide: Is It Too Early to Judge Red Bull's Lawson-over-Tsunoda Call?
Race and Betting Guide for Chinese GP
Another qualifying session, another Q1 exit for Liam Lawson. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda continues to impress, making it into Q3 again—securing back-to-back top-10 starts this season. Naturally, this has everyone asking the same question: Did Red Bull back the wrong driver?
It's still too early for a definitive answer, but so far, nothing we've seen on track has made it easy for Red Bull to defend their decision. But here's a thought—what if Lawson's struggles aren't entirely on him? What if the Red Bull car just isn't that good? Maybe Max Verstappen is so elite that he's dragging an underperforming car onto the podium. Imagine if he jumped into a Racing Bull for a weekend—how would that go? Obviously, I'm being a bit hyperbolic. That car is built around Max, but still, Lawson deserves a few more races before the final verdict is in.
Sprint Recap & Chinese GP Qualifying
Shanghai gave us a Sprint Race this weekend, and Lewis Hamilton took the win—a huge step forward for Ferrari and a cool moment seeing Lewis finish first in red for the first time. However, qualifying didn't go quite as smoothly for Ferrari, with Lewis and Charles Leclerc starting P5 and P6, respectively.
Isack Hadjar put in a strong performance, grabbing P7 and outqualifying his teammate Tsunoda. He'll be looking for his first points of the season. Meanwhile, I have to shout out my guy Carlos Sainz—he hasn't been great so far, and starting P15, he's got some serious work to do to crack into the points. But we stay optimistic.
Betting Guide
Here are my two favorite bets for the weekend:
Max Verstappen Top 2 (+275)
Max Verstappen Podium (+120)
If I can get Max to podium at plus money, I'm taking it every time. He's just that good, and starting P4, I wouldn't be surprised if he moves up at least a couple of spots for us to cash.
I'm also looking at some Top 6 finish bets:
Kimi Antonelli (-125)
Yuki Tsunoda (+180)
Alex Albon (+650)
For these to hit, Ferrari would need to struggle a bit, so if you're high on them, you might want to pass.
Outside of that, not much is catching my eye. The McLarens are too juiced, and it's tough to find value without laying a big number. But we've got a great race to watch, and hopefully, it's an exciting one.
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