So, before the Saudi Arabian GP started, I decided to place a few bets just to see if I could make a little bit of cash on my predictions, listed below:
$5 - Safety Car
$1 - Russell Podium
$1 - Norris Top 6
$1 - Gasly In Points
Last second bet - $1 - Verstappen Wins
I solely based that last second decision on the fact that 3 of the 4 races this season have been won by the pole sitter. Verstappen also has a strong record winning from pole position, so that factored into my decision as well. Unfortunately, I definitely learned a lesson from this and will not be placing any last second bets from here on out.
The Race
As soon as the lights went out, Verstappen and Piastri were neck and neck going into Turn 1, with Piastri pulling ahead going into Turn 2. If you recall, I mentioned Max's aggressive driving style, and that he would do nothing to stop at winning the race during my post this morning. This is exactly what we saw coming into Turn 2 as Verstappen tried to squeeze past Piastri at the apex before going off-track and through the runoff area.
We wouldn't get much farther into the race before Yuki Tsunoda and Pierre Gasly made contact, sending Gasly into the wall and resulting in a safety car and the only 2 retirements of the evening. You can watch the action for yourself below.
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— Formula 1 (@F1) April 20, 2025
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Lights out! It's a chaotic start to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix!! 😲#F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/VbWKlrLmmt
I had mixed emotions about this incident because my first bet was on the Safety Car, meaning that I won that bet, profiting $0.77 on a $5 wager and an extra $250 in free bets, which I'll talk more about later. But the mixed emotions that I felt were for Pierre Gasly, who I had predicted and bet on to Finish in the Points. Luckily I only lost $1, but still an upsetting event either way. Thankfully, Tsunoda and Gasly were both ok and we're able to watch the rest of the race from pit lane.
So, we're not even one lap in the race and I've won my first bet, lost one, and after Max was given a 5 second penalty for gaining an advantage after going off-track, it looked like I was going to lose the last second bet I placed on Verstappen to win. Not a huge deal, but dang, definitely wasn't expecting all that to happen right away!
The rest of the race went really well, and there were no other safety cars so it was down to skill and strategy alone. By the time Piastri pitted on Lap 20 in an attempted undercut maneuver, Norris was now up to P4 and charging hard to catch Charles Leclerc and George Russell who were now up to P3 and P2, respectively.
Verstappen didn't pit until Lap 22, which saw Leclerc take the lead with Norris in P2 while Piastri was pushing hard and overtaking Lewis Hamilton for P3. After serving his penalty, Verstappen made it out of the pits just behind Hamilton, for P5.
Leclerc would hold on to the medium compound tires for another 8 laps, finally pitting on Lap 30, which was the longest stint on the medium tires we saw all race. With tire management like that, it couldn't believe that he didn't come out on the softs to be honest. Either way, Norris was in lead after starting from P10.
Norris would hold on to the lead for 5 laps in total, finally coming in to ditch the hard tires he started the race with. I was really hoping to see him come out with the softs on with less than 20 laps to go, but he switched over to the mediums and came out at P5. Piastri was now back in the lead, followed by Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, and then Norris.
Russell showed some good defense, but Leclerc was driving like a bat out of hell, and eventually got the better of him, taking P3 from the Mercedes team on Lap 37. Russell would eventually be overtaken by Norris on Lap 41, seeing him knocked down to P5 with only 9 laps to go.
By the end of the race, Oscar Piastri had built up a 2.8 second lead over Max Verstappen, with Charles Leclerc taking the final podium spot. Lando Norris finished P4 after starting P10, George Russell finished P5, and Kimi Antonelli behind him in P6. It was a great race from start to finish, and if it wasn't for the penalty that Verstappen received at the start of the race, I feel like it could have gone a lot differently!
Picks/Prediction Review
Fortunately that won a wager I placed on Norris to Finish in the Top 6, which profited me a total of $0.1 on a $1 bet. Unfortunately, I ended up losing my last two bets, with George Russell not finishing on the podium and Max Verstappen not winning the race. I should have known not to make that last second wager on Max to win, but it is what it is.
In total, I wagered $9 of the $10 I loaded into my FanDuel account on 5 different lines, and I only won 2 of those 5, giving me a 40% pick rate so far. On those two winning wagers, I profited $0.77 and $0.15 for a total of $0.92. After losing the other 3 wagers I had placed, I am now at an account total of $7.92 with $250 in bonus bets for winning my first bet of $5.
These Bonus Bets can be placed as a single $250 bet, or in portions, so I'd like to spread it out as much as possible if I can, but the reward expires next Sunday, so I'll have to use them soon but I'm not sure what to bet on! Like I said in my post this morning, I'm not usually a betting person, so if anyone has any tips or suggestions please feel free to let me know!
Next up on the Formula 1 schedule is in Miami on May 2-4, 2025, and I for one can't wait to see what will happen now that Piastri is in the lead for the Drivers’ Championship with 99 points. Will he be able to hold strong for the remainder of the season, or will Verstappen be able to get back to his dominant ways and claim his 5th World Title?
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