These are the Days of Our Lives: Formula 1 News and Betting Notes
The drama of the Formula 1 drivers market continues like a daily episodic mellow drama, with new twists and turns since last week. Take a deep breath; hold on, we’ll get through this.
Alpine recently held testing at the Hungaroring with three potential candidates for their vacant seat driving the 2021 Alpine A521. Antonio Giovinazzi, Nick de Vries, and Jack Doohan were the drivers in this test, while Nico Hülkenberg remains a long shot and did not participate in this testing.
Pierre Gasly remains the favorite to take the Alpine seat, despite the Red Bull and Alpha Tauri’s failed attempt to get Colton Herta a super-license.
However, Gasly’s conditional release is likely still in place as Nick de Vries is now a candidate for Gasly’s seat at Alpha Tauri, partnering with newly-confirmed for 2023 Yuki Tsunoda.
De Vries might be the suitable replacement for Gasly, the Red Bull squad is looking for, enabling Gasly’s move to Alpine and a chance to lead the best team in the midfield.
There were short-lived rumors of a potential Mick Schumacher move to Alpha Tauri, but those died quickly. Why Schumacher and Daniel Ricciardo have had solid rumors and aren’t seriously in contention for the open seats on the grid is interesting, to say the least.
Once the de Vries chip falls, anticipate movement on the Ricciardo/Schumacher front soon after.
The 2023 Formula 1 Calendar: Goodbye France, Hello Vegas Night Racing
The 2023 Formula 1 calendar has been released with a 24-race slate scheduled, running from pre-season testing and the First race in Bahrain in February/March to the season finale in Abu Dhabi on November 26, 2022.
The rumored South African Grand Prix will not be happening in 2023. New deals are in place, with the Qatar Grand Prix starting its ten-year agreement with the 2023 calendar and Monaco remaining on the calendar until at least 2025, while the French Grand Prix has lost its spot.
The most critical 2023 Formula 1 calendar announcement for North American fans: the Las Vegas Grand Prix. You can sign up for Las Vegas Grand Prix news and ticketing info here. Here’s hoping we all find ourselves on the strip or the paddock in November 2023.
Formula 1: Now, with 50 % Less Canadian Content
Ina long-anticipate announcement that surprises absolutely no one, Williams has announced that Nicholas Latifi will not be returning to the team in 2023.
The Formula 1 grid now has less than 50% Canadian content but an upgrade in talent on the grid. While Latifi’s exit from Williams has been expected for weeks, Nick de Vries’ super-substitute performance at Monza was the death blow to Latifi’s Formula 1 future.
Up Next: The Crowning of A World Champion and the Singapore Grand Prix
Next on the Formula 1 calendar is the Singapore Grand Prix, the first of the fly-away races to finish the season and return to night racing. The Singapore Grand Prix will likely feature the debut of Red Bull’s much-rumored chassis upgrade and an updated floor on Sergio Perez’s RB-18 to match Max Verstappen’s set-up. The chassis update should give Red Bull an increased pace advantage.
The Singapore Grand Prix is Verstappen’s first opportunity to capture his back-to-back Driver’s World Championships. Our Formula 1 betting insight for this Formula 1 off-week: take Verstappen to win the Singapore Grand Prix and place a prop wager on Verstappen to win the World Driver’s Championship.
It’s no longer if Verstappen will win the 2022 World Driver’s Championship; it’s a matter of when and how many single-season records are in jeopardy.
