Chinese Grand Prix Prediction and Betting Tips: Back Alonso to finish in the top 6

F1 returns to China for the first time since 2019 this weekend and Shanghai is one of the dwindling number of circuits where world champion Max Verstappen is yet to win.

Friday morning's sole practice session and Sprint qualifying suggested a competitive weekend is in prospect and rain in the final period led to Lando Norris taking Sprint pole for McLaren ahead of Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes with Verstappen only fourth.

The Dutch driver is still expected to have a clear edge in the race, however, and all of his rivals are available at double-figure odds for success in Sunday morning's grand prix.

Sergio Perez each-way at 10/1 with LiveScore Bet

Sergio Perez has finished second in each of the three races that his Red Bull team leader Max Verstappen has won this season and the Mexican looks capable of another top-two finish in China.

Many bookmakers are betting only on the race winner in their outright market but LiveScore Bet are offering each-way terms of a third the odds for the first two places and Perez is a solid second favourite at 10/1.

Perez was unable to capitalise when Verstappen suffered problems and retired early in the race in Australia, finishing only fifth, but his trio of runner-up finishes have left him second in the championship only 13 points behind Verstappen.

He has been noticeably closer to his team-mate this season after being beaten out of sight at times last year and the threat of losing his seat for 2025 seems to have provided a tremendous incentive. 

Perez posted solid times in relation to Verstappen throughout the first day of action and he could be in for another strong weekend.

Fernando Alonso top 6 finish at 6/5 with LiveScore Bet

Fernando Alonso has taken two top-six finishes for Aston Martin in the first four races of the 2024 season, placing fifth in Saudi Arabia and sixth in Japan, and the veteran Spaniard can add another respectable finish in Shanghai.

Alonso won in China in 2005 for Renault and in 2013 for Ferrari and his Aston Martin team looked in solid form on the opening day.

While the double world champion did not target a fast lap time in first practice, his team-mate Lance Stroll was quickest of all, and in Sprint qualifying Alonso was able to take third on the grid for the shorter of the weekend's two events.

While Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari should all have the edge in dry conditions on race day, Alonso can be relied upon to extract the maximum from his machinery and his tactical ability and racecraft could see him pocketing another strong finish.

Sauber race winning car without Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin at 3/1 with LiveScore Bet

LiveScore Bet offer an interesting market which removes the top five teams of Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Aston Martin from the race market and Sauber could be the team to emerge as the best of the rest in China.

The Ferrari-powered cars of Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou are trailing the Visa Cash App RB team as well as Haas and Williams (on a tiebreak) in the team standings but they impressed in Friday's action as the RB team took a step back.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda could qualify only 14th and 19th for the Sprint after placing ninth and 12th in the morning practice, while Sauber were quick out of the blocks in 10th and 11th and then outperformed their rivals in Sprint qualifying too.

Both drivers qualified for Q3 and they are looking good to potentially grab their first points of the season. The best Sauber have managed so far is Zhou's 11th place in the opening race in Bahrain.

The Chinese driver will be fully motivated to impress in front of his home crowd and he and Bottas both have the potential to be the top driver outside of the top five teams this weekend.

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