With the season opener in Bahrain almost upon us and a new series of Drive To Survive having just landed on Netflix, it’s time to have a look at some of the best bets for the forthcoming F1 campaign.
The 2024 season will be Formula 1′s longest season in history, with a record-breaking 24 races taking place across 21 countries. There should have been 24 races last year too, but two were cancelled. This year sees the Chinese Grand Prix return after Covid-related cancellations and Emilia Romagna is back after the 2023 race was called off as a result of heavy flooding in northern Italy.
As impressive as it was, the domination of Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2023 didn’t make for the most exciting year of F1 racing, with both titles in the bag well before the season had reached its conclusion.
Looking at the latest F1 odds, the bookies are clearly expecting more of the same this year, with the Dutchman a best price of 1/5 with Betfred to secure what would be a fourth consecutive Drivers’ Championship and Red Bull an equally prohibitive 1/5 with Betfred to retain the Constructors’ Championship.
Those odds are not exactly enticing and there is a possibility that the investigation into inappropriate behaviour by Red Bull team principal Christian Horner might just have a negative impact on the team.
Can anyone stop Max?
The main alternatives to Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship are Charles Leclerc at 16/1 with Betfred, Lando Norris at 16/1 with Paddy Power, and Lewis Hamilton at 16/1 with BetVictor.
In the Constructors’ Championship, you could back Ferrari at 17/2 with Paddy Power, Mercedes at 12/1 with Unibet or McLaren at 13/1 with Paddy Power.
It is worth remembering that Red Bull won 21 of 22 races in 2023 though and the consensus seems to be that although they are unlikely to be quite so dominant this year, the gap between them and their competitors is still quite significant.
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate is the Mexican Sergio Perez, who faded away badly last year after a promising start to the season. That’s reflected in his standing in the betting for the Drivers’ Championship in 2024, where the bookies rate his chances below those of Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton, with Perez now offered at big odds of 33/1 with betting giants bet365.
Winner without Max
However, the reliability and dominance of the Red Bull last year, coupled with the fact that Perez did actually finish second (albeit a distant second) to Verstappen in 2023 means that he’s the favourite in the ‘Winner Without Max Verstappen’ market at best odds of 11/8 with BoyleSports.
There could perhaps be slightly better value in Leclerc at 5/2 in that market though. The Monaco Ferrari driver finished fifth overall last year, but his results improved over the latter half of the season.
* Betting odds correct at time of publication. Subject to changes.
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