Nico Rosberg (+170) and Lewis Hamilton (+160) are the auto racing betting favorites to win the 2016 Monaco Grand Prix. Monaco is arguably the signature event of the Formula 1 season, and is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport along with the Indy 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Rosberg currently leads the F1 season with 100 points after winning four of the first five races. In addition to that, the German driver is the fourth racer in history to win the Monaco Grand Prix three consecutive times – as it turns out, the last three editions of the race.
The other auto racing betting favorite to win Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton has a chip on his shoulder. Not only did he finished third last year – even though he started from the pole position – behind Mercedes teammate Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel, but he is two winless races from tying his longest losing streak of 10 races without a win. And speaking of the number, it was 8 years ago that the British driver last won on the Circuit de Monaco Grand Prix. A collision with Rosberg at the Spanish Grand Prix on May 15th dropped him to third in the championship. All of this either means he’s jinxed or he’s poised for a comeback – which one it is, it’s for for sports betting gamblers to decide.
Vettel (+1500), as noted above, came in second last year and is yet another auto racing betting favorite. On the downside, he drives for Ferrari, which has not won in the Principality of Monaco for 15 years. The last Scuderia Ferrari driver claimed victory in Monaco Grand Prix was in Michael Schumacher 2001. Who knows? Maybe it’s time for young blood – and it doesn’t get any younger than Max Verstappen (+900). The 18 year old wunderkind comes fresh off winning the previous Formula 1 event – the aforementioned Spanish Grand Prix – and in doing so became the youngest ever winner, the youngest driver to score a podium finish, and the youngest ever to lead a lap of a F1 race – all records previously held by Vettel.
Finally, sports betting gamblers may want to keep in mind that Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo (+800) will be given an upgraded Renault Tag-Heuer-badged engine for the Monaco weekend. The ‘B-spec’ power units tested very well in Spain, prompting Renault to officially introduce them in the Monaco Grand Prix. Renault’s Engine Technical Director Remi Taffin has said that the new engine could gain up to a half-a-second per lap at a normal circuit. However, the Circuit de Monaco is anything but normal; in fact, it is one of the most challenging with many elevation changes, tight corners and a tunnel – making maneuverability much more valuable than straight up power.