Heading into the Bahrain Grand Prix, the rumors swirling around Formula 1 had Mercedes on the downswing, as their testing lagged well behind that of Red Bull. There were issues in the Mercedes cars with the gearbox as well as in handling on the rear of the car, and based on the layout at Bahrain International Circuit, it looked like Red Bull was in trouble. However, those rumors proved largely illusory, at least in the opener, as Lewis Hamilton once again won, beating Red Bull’s Max Verstappen by 0.745 seconds. Valtteri Bottas rounded out the podium for Mercedes, coming in third.
Next up is the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on April 18, so let’s take a look at the latest sports betting odds for the F1 Drivers’ Championship, as well as our thoughts on some of the contenders.
Formula 1 News: Updated Drivers’ Championship Odds
| Driver | Odds |
| Lewis Hamilton | 9/10 |
| Max Verstappen | 32/21 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 27/1 |
| Sergio Perez | 40/1 |
| Lando Norris | 94/1 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 199/1 |
| Charles Leclerc | 259/1 |
| Pierre Gasly, Carlos Sainz | 299/1 |
| Lance Stroll, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso | 500/1 |
| Yuki Tsunoda, George Russell | 1000/1 |
| Esteban Ocon | 1500/1 |
| Antonio Giovinazzi | 2000/1 |
| Kimi Raikkonen | 2500/1 |
| Nicholas Latifi, Nikita Mazepin, Mick Schumacher | 5000/1 |
Lewis Hamilton won in a razor-thin race over Max Verstappen at Bahrain, a race that remained in question until the final lap. Verstappen took control in the early going, but then Hamilton undercut Verstappen to take the lead going into the initial round of pit stops. After both drivers took their second stop (with Hamilton taking his ten laps ahead of Verstappen), the stage was set for a thrilling finish. Verstappen kept chipping away at Hamilton’s lead before trying to pass him on Lap 53. However, all four of his wheels went off the course (a rule violation) and Verstappen had to give back the place.
After that, Hamilton held on until the end, winning his 96th career race. The win also gave Hamilton the F1 record for most laps led. Michael Schumacher had held the record at 5,111. Valtteri Bottas came in third, taking a late stop so that he could snag the bonus point for the quickest lap, and Lando Norris came in fourth in a solid effort, matching his result from the Bahrain Grand Prix a year ago. Sergio Perez had to start in pit lane thanks to a formation lap issue, but he bounced back nicely to take fifth in his racing debut with Red Bull. He beat out Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Daniel Ricciardo. Carlos Sainz came in eighth, the second driver of Ferrari’s team, and then Yuki Tsunoda and Lance Stroll rounded out the top ten.
What we learned from the race was that the rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes is closer than it was last year, but that Mercedes still was able to overcome performance concerns that had made Red Bull’s Verstappen the favorite going into the race. Hamilton won at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix back in 2020, so will he make it two wins in two races to start 2021 after overcoming an unfavorable course to win the debut? So far, he’s the favorite — and the favorite to win the drivers’ championship. We’ve seen in recent years that while Mercedes and Hamilton offer little value to the bettor, a lot of that has to do with the fact that they just keep winning.
Formula 1 Betting Odds
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