Canadian Grand Prix Prediction & F1 Betting Tips: McLaren Title Battle Heads to Montreal
An intriguing F1 season continues this weekend as the European leg of the campaign is paused and the drivers head to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri grabbed his fifth win of the season in Barcelona a fortnight ago to extend his lead at the top of the Drivers' Championship, with the young Australian now 10 points ahead of his McLaren teammate Lando Norris.
Norris, who finished second in Spain, is still in the title fight but will need to capitalise on recent good performances if he is going to make up ground on his teammate, and this weekend is the perfect time to start.
Further back, reigning champion Max Verstappen sits 49 points behind Piastri having so far found it tough to keep the pace with the McLaren drivers. His cause wasn't helped by a 10-second penalty in Barcelona that dropped him to 10th place in Catalonia.
And while it looks like a two-way tussle for the title in 2025 – betting sites price Piastri at 13/20 and Norris at 2/1 in the F1 drivers title market – there's plenty of room for a shock at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve this weekend.
Nevertheless, it's the McLaren duo who are the two race favourites in Canada once again, with the Australian at 5/4 versus 7/4 for Norris.
Canadian Grand Prix Betting Preview
With each passing race it becomes increasingly clear – if it wasn't already obvious – that the battle for the Drivers' Championship is a two-way one – between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Norris was among the clear favourites for the title before the season started but it is Piastri who is slowly emerging as the team's lead driver, with the 24-year-old taking advantage of McLaren's early dominance to stake his own claim to the world championship.
The pair are the two favourites ahead of pretty much every race at this point in the year, and though Piastri tops the market for this race and the title as it stands, there's plenty of time left for Norris to correct some of the early mistakes that have seen him fall 10 points adrift.
With the weather set to remain clear but cool in Montreal and McLaren having performed well at similar street circuits, such as Jeddah and Miami, this race is one that plays to the strengths of two drivers who have finished both finished on the podium seven times in nine races in 2025.
Add to that the simple fact that nobody can match McLaren's pace on their best day, then it looks like yet another battle in the top two for the McLaren pair this weekend, barring any surprises.
And to that end, we think another McLaren 1-2 finish could be the best bet for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Canadian Grand Prix prediction
One of the biggest surprises in Barcelona was the performance of Nico Hulkenberg in the upgraded Sauber, with the German taking fifth place and 10 points with a brilliant display.
He was 16/1 in the F1 odds to finish in the top 10 ahead of that race when we tipped him to do just that in our Spanish Grand Prix predictions, but bookmakers aren't offering anywhere near those kind of prices this time around.
That major car update surprised many a fortnight ago but the real test is whether or not it has the staying power to challenge for the points positions regularly.
But Hulkenberg is no stranger to a good performance in Canada – having qualified on the front row in 2023 only for a grid penalty to knock him back.
With that in mind, we're backing the 37-year-old to build on last week's performance, with a wager on him to finish in the points available at 4/1 on various F1 betting sites.
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