Bet On The European Grand Prix Back But In Baku For 2016

After the last run in Valencia in 2012 none of us bet on the European Grand Prix making a return and certainly not in Azerbaijan, but this weekend the posh-boys car club circus moves from Montreal to Baku and a brand new street circuit, so what can the drivers expect and which of them should we be wagering on to win this Sunday?

The Canadian Grand Prix breathed a little more life into the ongoing tragedy of squandered opportunities that is Formula One. Lewis Hamilton’s second straight win narrowing the gap between him and thus far runaway Championship leader and team-mate Nico Rosberg to just nine points keeps the pair of them at each others throats, and if you like to bet on sports in the UK you can bet on the European Grand Prix in Baku being an explosive meeting of Mercedes rivalry and unfamiliar circuit.

European GP returns

• Baku, Azerbaijan
• 6km Street Circuit
• Cost $66m+

The six kilometer track runs along the shores of the Caspian Sea, around the old quarter and past some of the iconic buildings in this fascinating city. Of course as a street circuit it has precious little run off, and with some very tight turns after rather generous straights I expect to see a fair few impacts with the barriers and I think we can bet on the European Grand Prix featuring the safety car several times, especially if it rains because that surface will be like sheet ice.

New Fast Circuit May Throw Up Surprise Winner On Sunday

Of course if you’re going to take advantage of UK gambling laws to place a bet on the European Grand Prix the chances are you’ll be betting on the favorites, but do remember this is a circuit without history and no one is quite sure what will happen when the pack hit that 90 degree left-hander so soon after the start, and Turn 9 could catch anyone out, and that doesn’t even begin to factor in what the two Mercedes drivers will do to each other, in Spain they took each other out, they may do again.

European Grand Prix

• Hamilton 1/1
• Rosberg 12/5
• Vettel 5/1

Pick A Mercedes If You’re Going To Bet On The European Grand Prix  

So then whilst the favorites are just that, this undiscovered circuit may yet throw up some unlikely winners, and to look at the odds being offered at Betfair there’s a fair few on the grid who are extremely unlikely to win. The rear eight cars on the grid have less than 1000/1 chance, apparently, and the last winner of the European Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso, is 300/1 alongside Jenson Button, which says much about their cars competitiveness this season.

Valtteri Bottas gets 66/1 after his podium finish in Canada, Ferrari’s Raikkonen gets 25/1 with the Red Bull of Verstappen and that Ricciardo both getting 12/1 and Sebastian Vettel manages a very flattering 5/1 and may be worth your bet on the European Grand Prix, because once you get into Mercedes territory the odds shorten considerably. If you were in the UK gambling news headlines would announce someone else winning on Sunday, your positive optimism is to be lauded, but you’re way off the mark.

Nico Rosberg gets 12/5 and probably isn’t worth the risk. Hamilton’s back to back wins means he’s carrying a lot of confidence and high spirits into this race, and Rosberg has seemed to lose some of his sheen of late. Hamilton is 1/1 to take the win in Baku, and if you must bet on the European Grand Prix and need the surest thing, Lewis is it, but don’t expect the rest of the grid to make it easy for him, and especially not if the weather decides not to play fair.