Formula 1 car testing is already underway, which tells us that it is time to start thinking about sports betting for the 2020 racing season. Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton dominated the 2019 campaign, as Mercedes picked up wins in 15 of the 21 races. Hamilton won 11 of those himself, with the other four going to Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton picked up his third consecutive driver’s championship. Mercedes already looks solid in the early testing, so they are the heavy favorite to win another Constructor Championship, and Hamilton is the favorite to win among the drivers, listed at -175. Take a look at the complete list of odds as well as our thoughts on the teams and some of the top contenders.
Formula 1: Early Odds for the 2020 Driver’s Championship
Driver Odds
- Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) -175
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +450
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull), Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) +550
- Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) +700
- Alexander Albon (Red Bull) +10000
- Carlos Sainz (McLaren) +40000
- Daniel Ricciardo (Renault), Lando Norris (McLaren) +50000
- Esteban Ocon (Renault), Kevin Magnussen (Haas), Sergio Perez (Racing Point) +75000
- Kimi Raikkonen (Alfa Romeo), Lance Stroll (Racing Point) +100000
- Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), Daniil Kvyat (AlphaTauri), Nicholas Latifi (Williams), Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), Roman Grosjean (Haas) +150000
- George Russell (Williams) +200000
Lewis Hamilton is the heavy favorite for a number of reasons. He has 84 career victories, just seven back of Michael Schumacher, the all-time leader. That means that he could pass Schumacher this year — and start pushing toward 100. He could well be the best Formula 1 driver in history, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Mercedes looks terrific in testing, running numerous laps without showing mechanical difficulties. This year they are bringing in a new system for steering, permitting drivers to change the toe of the car, which means that tires will wear more evenly, cutting down on pitting. That combination of driver and constructor has Hamilton as the favorite.
Max Verstappen is an interesting value option here. He currently holds the record for the youngest full-time driver (set in 2015) and the youngest ever to win a race (in 2016 at the Spanish Grand Prix), and even now he is only 22 years old. In 2019, he won three races, started on two poles and had the fastest lap in three races. He came in third overall in the championship standings. Traditionally, Ferrari has finished ahead of Red Bull, but Red Bull has looked better than Ferrari in testing, second to Mercedes in laps run. If Verstappen can swipe a couple more races, he could be in the running for a title.
Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel represent an interesting challenge for Ferrari, because neither one of them seems happy to let the other be the lead driver. The two collided at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the words they had for one another were sharp indeed. Mattia Binotto said that it was fortunate that the wreck came near the end of the season so that they could work on collaborative driving. Leclerc just got a contract extension that does not end until 2024, while Vettel’s contract is up at the end of this season. It will be interesting to see which of these two emerges as Ferrari’s featured driver.
The 2020 schedule is set to have a record 22 races, although the Grand Prix in China has been postponed due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. The 2020 slate has a race in Vietnam for the first time, but again, concerns about the disease in Asia could scrap more than one race. The German Grand Prix is off the calendar, replaced by one in the Netherlands. This year will celebrate the 70th anniversary of Formula 1, and the season begins in Melbourne on March 15 at the Australian Grand Prix.
