The Bookmakers are backing Lando Norris to end his ‘hometown’ hurt and finally enjoy some Formula 1 success at Silverstone this weekend.
Norris, fresh off his win in Austria last time out, is ranked highly by the UK bookmakers at Betselect as 13/8 favourite with Bet365, and 33/20 with Unibet and 7/4 with Betfred to bring to an end to his wait for a win on home soil as he looks to cut the lead at the top of the drivers championships this year.
Norris is currently chasing teammate Oscar Piastri at the top of the charts, with just 15 points separating the two race-aces this season.
That could all change this weekend, though, as Norris is aiming to take his fourth win of the year and his first at Silverstone since racing in the junior championships. Back then Norris found Silverstone as one of his lucky tracks, starting back in 2015, as in the MSA Formula 4 Championship (now British F4), Norris won at the track on his way to taking the drivers title.
He followed that up in 2016 with a second placed finish there in the Formula Renault Northern Cup, before enjoying a lights-to-flag win in 2017 in the FIA European Formula 3 in 2017. Despite that initial success moving up the rankings in motorsport, Norris has so far that elusive Formula 1 win is hard to come by.
That is not for a want of trying as the McLaren racer finished second in 2023 and followed that up with another podium finish last year, this time coming third.
If it is not Norris then the odds are it will be his teammate Piastri, who is priced at 13/8 at Bet365 and 33/20 at Unibet and 7/4 at Betfred, as the two drivers have won an incredible eight out of 11 races so far this year, with two second-placed finishes in races not won by a McLaren.
That form means that the McLaren-Mercedes team are currently on 417 points in the Constructors’ Championship standings, more than 200 points ahead of second placed Ferrari.
But that form will mean nothing going into Silverstone, a track McLaren drivers have notoriously found hard in years gone by. But not since 2008 has a McLaren driver taken the chequered flag at Silverstone, Lewis Hamilton was the last to do so, as the British Grand Prix has been dominated by the likes of Mercedes and Ferrari and Red Bull in more recent years.
Last year it was Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes who took the chequered flag, and Hamilton is 18/1 with Bet365 and 16/1 with Unibet and 20/1 Betfred to do so again this year. Hamilton saw off the challenge of Max Verstappen (4/1 with Bet365, 5/1 with Unibet and 9/2 with Betfred to win this time) and Norris who came in, in third spot.
This year Norris and Piastri are the firm favourites to end that wait for McLaren, with the aforementioned odds for Verstappen seeing him the third favourite to earn his second win at the British Grand Prix.
George Russell is another one who the bookies think has a chance to take the chequered flag, as after winning in Canada already this season, and taking two wins last year, he is priced at 10/1 with Bet365, and 12/1 with both Unibet and Betfred to take his second win of this year as well.
Charles Leclerc is also being widely backed this weekend as the Ferrari race-ace, who has taken three podium finishes in his last four races, is currently 16/1 with both Bet365 and Unibet to earn his first win of the season, while Betfred have him at 14/1.
Most of the money is going on Hamilton at the moment, though, as sentiment is running strong with punters as 42 per cent of bets have been backing him to enjoy success once more in his home country.
After Hamilton (odds mentioned above) the jump in prices is huge as Kimi Antonelli is next up at 100/1 with Bet365 and 50/1 with Unibet and 100/with Betfred to take the crown.
Antonelli and his Mercedes probably won’t be the most watched racer this weekend, that will be Hamilton and the McLaren duo, as British fans will want a British racer/team to enjoy success at Silverstone.
And McLaren, the British based team, with their British driver, who grew up just 130 miles away from Silverstone, and who unveiled their car for this season at a special test day at Silverstone back in February this year, and who have won everywhere bar Japan, Italy and Canada so far this season, know they have both the car and the drivers to put an end to that curse this year and the bookmakers are backing them to do so.
