Monaco Grand Prix betting tips and F1 predictions: Qualifying skill can help Hulkenberg bag more points

Where to watch the Monaco Grand Prix

Practice one & two Sky Sports F1, 12.30pm & 4pm Friday

Practice three & Qualifying Sky Sports F1, 11.30am & 3pm Saturday

Race Sky Sports F1, 2pm Sunday

Best bet

Nico Hulkenberg points finish
1pt 2-1 general

Monaco Grand Prix predictions

World champion Max Verstappen arrives for this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix with a 48-point lead in the standings, but what had once looked a one-horse race is now a much more open affair.

Lando Norris beat the Red Bull ace in Miami and pushed Verstappen all the way to the line at Imola last week as McLaren's upgrades have clearly put them in the hunt for victories.

And Ferrari, while disappointed to finish third and fifth with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Emilia Romagna, have also made a step forward and should find the confines of the Monte Carlo street circuit suit their car better than Imola.

Verstappen needed all his skill plus a slice of good fortune to claim his fifth win in seven races in 2024 last weekend.

The key was in qualifying when the Dutchman used a slipstream from a rival to boost his speed on the straight on his fastest lap. That allowed him to pip the McLarens of Oscar Piastri and Norris by less than a tenth of a second and may even have been why he outpaced Leclerc, who was just over 0.2 seconds adrift.

Had he not started from pole, it is far from certain that Verstappen would have managed to win, and it is likely to be a similar story this weekend. Monaco is the hardest circuit on the calendar for overtaking, putting even more emphasis on qualifying well.

One driver who invariably excels on Saturdays is Nico Hulkenberg.

The veteran Haas driver has hustled his way into the top ten grid positions at each of the last three races and has finished no lower than 11th in his previous six Grands Prix.

The team have been working on some new parts specifically designed for the Monaco track, and the German could prove overpriced for a fourth top-ten finish of the year.

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