- Max Verstappen has won eight of the previous nine races 
- Lewis Hamilton finished second in both the United States and Mexico 
- Recommended bet: Lewis Hamilton podium finish

The F1 calendar heads to South America for the penultimate race before the season ends, with Max Verstappen looking to extend his record-breaking win total for the year at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Dutchman has had his second world title in the bag for some weeks now and last time out in Mexico he scooped his 14th win of the season — breaking the record for most wins in a single campaign that he had previously jointly held with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel.

Now, he will hope to extend that run to 15 when he lines up at the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo this weekend.

Verstappen to march towards victory again

With each passing race, it becomes increasingly more difficult for anyone to knock Red Bull and Verstappen in particular off their perch.

The 25-year-old has been truly dominant this season after what initially promised to be a two-horse race between the Red Bull and Ferrari teams.

Ferrari actually won two of the first three races, but that will feel like a long time ago now, with reliability and tactical errors hurting the Scuderia's chances.

Red Bull have continued to scoop up wins with Verstappen winning eight of the last nine races since Leclerc last took the chequered flag in Austria — his Red Bull team mate Sergio Perez winning the other one in Singapore.

Even when not starting on pole, the Red Bull team have mastered their racecraft and strategy and the sheer speed of the car means DRS has an even greater effect.

Stopping them this season will no longer be the aim as teams look to develop their cars for 2023, so Red Bull might even be in a better position.

Can Hamilton break his duck?

Lewis Hamilton has just two more chances to preserve a record that has been with him since the very start of his F1 career — winning at least one race every season.

The Mercedes driver has been coming closer in recent times but has ultimately fallen short to the quicker Red Bull cars.

The seven-time world champion will be ruing the slow start he and his team made to the 2022 season, with the Silver Arrows not adjusting to the new regulations anywhere near as quickly as expected.

Last time out in Mexico, Hamilton led for a good chunk of the race before being ultimately overhauled by Verstappen.

However, Hamilton and Mercedes can certainly challenge Ferrari at least for best of the rest in Brazil, with the Scuderia's pace having declined the longer the season has gone on.

Predictions

It might not be the boldest call ever made, but it is tricky to look beyond Verstappen winning this race, and he can be backed at 4/9 with LiveScore Bet to take a second victory at Interlagos following his success there in 2019

It may well be a Red Bull one-two in Brazil with Perez also expected to go well, but given Mercedes' recent improvements, Hamilton can challenge for at least a podium finish, which can be backed at 5/6 with LiveScore Bet.

In terms of qualifying, Ferrari have been by far the best team on Saturdays and it will be a source of great frustration as to why they have not managed to convert that into a proper title challenge.

Charles Leclerc has been top dog in nine of the 20 qualifying sessions so far while Carlos Sainz has had three poles — Ferrari are 5/6 with LiveScore Bet to have the quickest car on Saturday.