Formula 1 betting: Max Verstappen aims for win No. 10 of 2022 at his home grand prix
Will Max Verstappen have a home-track advantage on Sunday?
The F1 champion enters Sunday’s Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix (9 a.m. ET, ESPN2) as a massive favorite to win the race and extend his massive points lead. Verstappen has won nine of the season’s 14 races and has a 93-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez in the points standings. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is the only other driver with multiple wins in 2022 and he’s 98 points back of Verstappen.
Verstappen is -175 to win the race while Leclerc is the No. 2 favorite at +350. Those are the longest odds for the second favorite that we’ve seen in quite some time. And oddsmakers aren’t too keen on anyone else’s chances either. Perez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz are tied as the No. 3 favorite at +900 while the Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are at +1400 to win. No other driver has odds better than +10000.
Verstappen’s odds to win the pole position are longer than they are to win the race. He’s at -155 to start first while Leclerc is at +250 and Sainz is at +700. After seeing the outright speed that Verstappen had at Spa throughout practice and the race, it’s hard to see him not starting first on Sunday.
Here are five bets from BetMGM that we like heading into the race weekend. We’ll be shocked if anyone other than Verstappen wins the race.
Max Verstappen to win the pole (-155)
It seems prudent to bet Verstappen to win the race as well, but take advantage of the bigger return with this bet.
Max Verstappen to win FP1 (+110)
Ferrari has shown good pace in the first practice sessions but Red Bull was so much faster at Spa. It feels like it would take Red Bull tuning its car down and focusing on much longer runs in the first practice for Ferrari to get the top spot.
George Russell to finish ahead of Carlos Sainz (+110)
Ferrari’s gremlins pop up every few races and the team’s strategy has been subpar so far this season. Mercedes has countered its lack of speed with exceptional consistency.
AlphaTauri to finish ahead of Alfa Romeo (+110)
The AlphaTauri cars have struggled so far this season but Pierre Gasly was ninth at Spa after starting eighth. We think he can get back-to-back points finishes.
Mercedes to finish ahead of Ferrari (+175)
We’d like this bet more at +200 or so, but Ferrari seems to be slipping back toward Mercedes in the constructor’s fight.
