Report provided by Bookiesbonuses.com – the #1 online betting comparison site. Charles Leclerc sits atop the standings as Formula 1 heads to Jeddah, after his sensational Bahrain Grand Prix victory last Sunday.
Not only is the Monegasque driver the slight favourite to win the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, but he is also now the early frontrunner in the F1 Drivers Championship betting market ahead of Max Verstappen.
While it’s probably a bit of a stretch to call this weekend’s outing a two-horse race, there is distance between the Leclerc-Verstappen duo and the rest of the field – just as there was at the Bahrain Grand Prix until Pierre Gasly’s AlphaTauri caught fire and chaos ensued for Red Bull thereafter.
Leclerc had the beating of Verstappen in terms of pace last weekend but neither he nor his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz believe they are fully up to speed with the new car.
“Testing was very useful for this, I’ve tried many different driving styles and still need to find the perfect one. There’s definitely much more to come hopefully from us,” Leclerc said after he secured pole at the Bahrain International Circuit on Saturday.
Sainz went as far as saying Bahrain was his ‘most difficult weekend’ at Ferrari
The Spaniard is a man on a mission and wants to be fighting for F1 wins that the bookies deem somewhat unlikely with odds of 8/1.
“I will celebrate with the whole team but from Monday I will be looking into data and into what I can do better to drive this car and be fighting for the win next time,” Sainz said after Sunday’s race.
Leclerc is generally priced around 11/8 to make it back-to-back victories in the Middle East, but Verstappen is right on his heels at 6/4.
The double retirement was a disastrous start for Red Bull and that has been reflected in the Constructors Championship betting market – in which Ferrari are now 11/10 favourites – but the energy drinks brand can at least take some solace from the fact that they were competitive all weekend, unlike Mercedes.
It took a massive stroke of luck in the shape of two Red Bull DNFs for Lewis Hamilton to take a place on the podium in Bahrain, and he is an outsider at 3/1 to achieve the same feat again on Sunday.
Sergio Perez is a shorter price than Hamilton for a top-three finish at 2/1, but interestingly it’s the Brit who is ahead of the Red Bull driver in the race winner market at 10/1.
Perez is a 16/1 shot to win the race, while George Russell – fourth in Bahrain in his first race as a full-time Mercedes driver – is 33/1 and that can be backed with free bets if you claim the Bet365 bonus.
Dream return to the F1 grid for Magnussen and a good weekend for Haas
Arguably just as fascinating as the action at the front of the grid last weekend was the midfield battle. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen may have narrowly missed out on Driver of the Day honours, but his 10-point haul was the dream return to the sport for the Dane who crossed the line in fifth place.
Magnussen is priced at 6/4 for another top-six finish, and realistically needs one of the top three teams to encounter a problem in order for that to come into fruition.
Valtteri Bottas impressed on his Alfa Romeo debut as he rounded out the top six, and the Finn is 7/4 to end up there again.
It was a nightmare weekend for McLaren, and that is highlighted by Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo’s respective prices of 6/4 and 5/2 to even score a point in Jeddah.
Rookie driver Guanyu Zhou got off the mark in F1 with a point in his first race, and he can be backed at 6/4 to score again on Sunday.
Mick Schumacher missed out by one place in Bahrain but is 11/8 to put that right and break his duck in the Haas.