The first race of the 2024 season: the Bahrain Grand Prix. The fans have (for the most part) all watched Drive to Survive Season 6, and everyone has heard that Guenther Steiner is out at Haas now while Lewis Hamilton is headed to Ferrari in 2025.
There’s plenty of drama stuff going on right now, but it’s time to put all of that aside to see who, if anyone, can dethrone Max Verstappen and Red Bull, who have enjoyed plenty of success in the last few seasons.
What will happen remains to be seen, but from listening to what the other drivers had to say after testing at Bahrain concluded, Red Bull still has a sizable advantage over the rest of the grid.
I’ll touch on this and more in my Bahrain F1 betting picks below.
F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Odds
Formula 1 odds for Bahrain are current as of Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. ET and found at DraftKings Sportsbook.
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Here are the top favorites for F1 Bahrain:
- Max Verstappen (-360)
- Charles Leclerc (+1000)
- Sergio Perez (+1400)
- Lewis Hamilton (+1400)
- Carlos Sainz (+1600)
- Lando Norris (+2500)
- George Russell (+2500)
- Oscar Piastri (+3500)
- Fernando Alonso (+4000)
All other racers are +20000 or greater.
F1 Bahrain Winner Prediction
Max Verstappen (-360) • DraftKings Sportsbook
I understand if people don’t want to lay -360 odds on Max Verstappen … but who else are you going to pick? Mad Max again stands as a runaway favorite for F1 World Drivers’ Championship Odds.
Verstappen has won 19 of the last 20 F1 races, and recent testing in Bahrain signifies that the new and improved Red Bull car is as solid as it was last year, if not better.
The general sense from the 18 other drivers on the grid is that Red Bull once again has a major advantage over the rest of the field. Max should have little trouble getting where he wants to be: the front of the pack.
F1 Bahrain Max Verstappen Tips
Verstappen will always be the favorite in today’s F1 hierarchy simply because he has had the best results over the past year-plus.
For this reason, I will always consider betting him if he is (-225) or better, given his relative odds to win each week.
F1 Bahrain Sergio Pérez Tips
Pérez is still in the very fast Red Bull car, but his star has definitely dulled a bit since the beginning of last season, so much so that people wondered, despite his wins last season, whether Red Bull would keep him around for 2024 or not.
The team has committed to him for now, but Perez’s seat is still warm, so to speak, and he needs to show progress right out of the gate.
F1 Bahrain Best Prop Bets
Charles Leclerc: Podium Finish (+100)
DraftKings Sportsbook • WAGER: 1 unit
Leclerc deserves some good luck for once, after the 2023 season was one mishap after another for Scuderia Ferrari. Now cemented as Ferrari’s future after it was revealed that Hamilton would be replacing Carlos Sainz in 2025, Leclerc should have less of a chip on his shoulder.
Leclerc looked good in testing, finishing with the second-fastest time behind his teammate Sainz. I won’t let that deter me, though, as I still believe that Leclerc is a more talented driver and if push comes to shove, Ferrari will favor him finishing higher.
Carlos Sainz: Fastest Qualifier (+600) • DraftKings Sportsbook
WAGER: 0.5 unit
I’m leaning into the testing results here, but Sainz deserves some credit here, as despite knowing that this is his last season as a Ferrari starting driver, he’s looking like he’s going to leave it all out on the track. Sainz, as noted above, was the quickest tester at Bahrain a couple weeks ago, and he deserves some respect on this track.
Last year, Sainz finished fourth in qualifying, a tenth of a second behind Leclerc and seven-tenths of a second behind Verstappen, who captured the first pole of the year. Ferrari seem to have added some speed to their car this offseason, though, and it wouldn’t shock me to see him beat this number.
