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The Beginners Guide to F1 Betting

There Are Plenty of Options for All Types of Fans

It’s finally F1 season again! The Bahrain Grand Prix takes place Sunday to signal the beginning of the 2023 season. Two-time defending champion Max Verstappen leads the way with his team, Red Bull, also atop the F1 betting odds. And betting on F1 can be more than simply picking the winner.

Let’s check the latest Formula 1 news, stats, injury reports, and Formula 1 lines. We’ve got plenty of Formula 1 picks for you to consider.

Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen testing at the Bahrain - Giuseppe Cacace/AFP
Red Bull's Dutch driver Max Verstappen testing at the Bahrain - Giuseppe Cacace/AFP

Who Wins the Race and More? F1 Outrights

The most basic way to bet on F1 is to bet on who the race winner will be. This can be done via the outrights market where folks bet online on the winning driver and/or the winning constructor. The 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix odds place Max Verstappen as the favorite to win at -120 while his team, Red Bull, is the favored constructor at -140.

Red Bull’s lines are shorter because Sergio Perez, Verstappen’s teammate, could also win the race to cash the bet. Alternatively, betting on the race winner is not the only way to bet. Bettors can also bet on where drivers will place: a podium finish (top three), top six, or even top 10.

Of course, the payout will be reduced depending on the bet. Verstappen to finish on the podium is at -360 while a top six finish is at -500. A top-10 finish is valued at -750.

This type of market makes it plausible to bet on other drivers outside of the winner. Since F1 can be top-heavy with four to six drivers with a likely chance of winning, betting on where the others place gives fans the chance to win off their favorite drivers outside the “Big Three” of Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari.

Another popular outright bet is the F1 futures where a bettor can bet on who the season winner will be. For 2023, Verstappen is favored along with Red Bull. The odds will change depending how the season progresses so betting aptly is needed to maximize the betting lines.

Get More Personal: Head-to-Head Betting and Props

Fans get more out of F1 betting by looking into the head-to-head (H2H) betting market and the props. Head-to-head is as it sounds: betting between two drivers. The winner finishes ahead of the opponent. These markets are typically done between drivers of similar standing to get a competitive line. But it’s not always the case.

For instance, an H2H bet between Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez favors Hamilton at -200 with the comeback on Perez at +150. Hamilton or Perez does not need to win the race to cash the bet. One simply needs to finish in higher standing. If Hamilton finished 4th while Perez finished 5th, the winning bet is the one for Hamilton.

Prop Betting: Potential Goldmine for Passionate Fans

Hardcore fans or those shrewd with F1 knowledge can make extra coin by betting on the props market. These typically come in two main umbrellas: the driver props and the team props. For the driver props, bettors can bet on whether a particular driver records feats like the “Fastest Lap”. Alternatively, the online sportsbook also allows bettors to bet on a driver not finishing the race (retiring).

Team props offer variations of the single outright bets above. Fans can bet on a constructor/team to have a “Double Podium Finish” or for both drivers to finish in the top six or top 10. Other feats such as “Fastest Pit Stop” and “Fastest Race Speed” may also be available occasionally.

Practice? Qualifying? You Can Bet on Them. Too

F1 betting isn’t limited to the race itself. While most of the action happens here (typically on Sunday), the practice runs two days prior and the qualifying, a day before, is also critical. There will be F1 betting odds open for these events as they are officially part of the race calendar.

Betting markets can be similar where fans can bet on H2H matchups, props, and other similar lines. However, the time to bet on these events may be shorter. Additionally, all F1 odds can go off the board depending on what happens in either practice or qualifying.

Currently, the Bahrain testing one week prior to the race has shifted the odds in favor of Verstappen and Red Bull. However, had he and/or the team struggled, the lines would have moved away from them.

Bettors can use practice and qualifying betting to gauge what may happen during the actual race. Of course, Verstappen has proven that he can overcome a poor performance in either. But that’s the reason he’s the world champion.

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