F1 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix Odds, Predicitions & Picks

The 2019 Formula 1 season opened with a big win for Valtteri Bottas, who is looking to assert himself on the Mercedes team after Lewis Hamilton dominated the 2018 campaign for the German manufacturer. Bottas had not won a race since 2017, but the Australian Grand Prix was his time to shine. This week, the Formula 1 series moves to Bahrain, and the Grand Prix will start at 11:10am Eastern time. You can catch the broadcast on ESPN2 for the race. Practice on Friday will be on ESPNU, and practice and qualifying on Saturday will appear on ESPN2. We have your driver odds for the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix, as well as thoughts about the course and our prediction.

F1 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix Odds, Predicitions & Picks

Driver Odds for the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix

• Lewis Hamilton                                                                                                         +150
• Valtteri Bottas                                                                                                           +250
• Sebastian Vettel                                                                                                        +650
• Max Verstappen                                                                                                        +800
• Charles Leclerc                                                                                                         +900
• Pierre Gasly                                                                                                               +4000
• Kevin Magnussen, Kimi Raikkonen, Romain Grosjean                                       +50000
• Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg                                                                        +75000
• Daniil Kvyat                                                                                                               +100000
• Carlos Sainz Jr, Lance Stroll, Lando Norris, Sergio Perez                                 +150000
• Alexander Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi                                                                    +250000
• George Russell, Robert Kubica                                                                              +400000

Ferrari has some big questions to answer coming into Bahrain, as their lead driver, Sebastian Vettel, could only come in fourth place, almost a minute off the lead. It wasn’t just during the race that the cars struggled; in qualifying, Vettel finished 0.704 seconds behind Lewis Hamilton, who qualified for the pole, and fellow Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was almost a full second behind Hamilton. The unique characteristics of the course in Australia may have impacted this outcome to some degree, but we will see. The course in Bahrain is a 3.36 mile circuit. Because of the high temperatures in Bahrain at this time of year, the race begins at twilight and ends under electric light to keep drivers out of the hottest part of the day. Because of the lack of tight corners, you can expect to see drivers pushing aggressively with their passing maneuvers and the lines that they take. However, as the sun finishes going down during the race, the temperature of the track will drop quickly because of the desert air. The only practice session that takes place during the same time as the race is the second one, so drivers will have limited exposure to the experience of driving on that cooling track. The course in Bahrain has a much more abrasive surface than the one that the drivers saw in Australia, and so the tires that drivers use should come from harder compounds so that they can stand up longer for the wear of the granite-based pavement. There are not as many medium-speed corners in Bahrain; that feature was Ferrari’s nemesis down under. The course in Bahrain features primarily straightaways and corners at low speed. This should benefit Ferrari drivers. Toro Rosso is a dark horse that did well in Bahrain last year, as Pierre Gasly got the best finish of his career, coming in fourth. Valtteri Bottas not only won last week but also got the point for fastest lap. In Bahrain, he has made the podium twice. In his bid to remake his own career, Australia gave him a great opening week. However, I also expect hard pushes from Lewis Hamilton, who struggled in the season opener, and as mentioned before, Ferrari should have a much better day. No one has won more in Bahrain than Sebastian Vettel, who won here in 2012 and 2013 with Red Bull and again in 2017 and 2018 with Ferrari. Ferrari has the most victories here of any constructor, as Felipe Massa won here twice in 2007 and 2008, and Michael Schumacher won here in 2004, in addition to Vettel’s wins. No one has more podium finishes in Bahrain that Kimi Raikkonen — but he has never won here. He has eight podium finishes, with three third-place finishes and five runner-up finishes. If you’re looking for a dark horse here, Raikkonen seems to be due.