Formula 1 Pick: Max Verstappen Win (-117) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Looking towards the first Formula 1 race of the 2023 season we kick off things in the desert of Bahrain where Max Verstappen looks to defend his back-to-back championships. We are excited ahead of this new F1 season and look forward to bringing you guys more betting picks and race previews.
F1 fans out there interested in betting on the first GP of 2023 can do so at any of these US betting sites.
- Formula 1 Season Picks Record: 0-0
Bahrain Grand Prix 2023
Sunday, March 5, 2023 – 10:00 AM EST at Bahrain International Circuit
Bahrain GP Betting Odds
- Max Verstappen -117
- Charles Leclerc +350
- Lewis Hamilton +900
- Sergio Perez +900
- Carlos Sainz +900
- George Russell +1600
- Fernando Alonso +2000
- Lance Stroll +12500
- Valtteri Bottas +25000
*All odds available from BetOnline
Verstappen Now the Hunted
Max Verstappen comes into this opening race of the 2023 season as very much so the hunted instead of the hunter, which he has been accustomed to in the past. Following a championship victory on the final day of the 2021 season, Verstappen managed to wrap up his championship victory a little earlier last season as he did so with four races remaining and eventually won the championship by 146 points.
Verstappen has finished the previous four Formula 1 seasons in 3rd/3rd/1st/1st. He seems poised and ready to take a third in a row this season since he’s driving for the faster car on the grid right now in the Red Bull. The Sportsbooks have him as low as -135 to win the championship this season.
Red Bull Leads Again
Following the preseason tests (which were held at this very circuit) it seems that Red Bull has come away with the faster car. Well, to start the season at the very least, as we know teams’ abilities get better throughout the season with potential upgrades.
For now, all the simulations are predicting the Red Bull to be the fastest car at this circuit. Yes, things don’t always work out and that’s why we love the beauty of racing, if it were so predictable, we wouldn’t enjoy it. There is something that catches our imagination when a car that is undoubtedly the fastest on any given track, does not end up winning.
On Day two in practice Sergio Perez broke last year’s pole time, so that’s just an indication of how fast they are right now.
Don’t Read Into 2022 Race
You can point out that Ferrari finished 1-2 in this race last year and Mercedes 3-4, but there wasn’t a Red Bull to be seen in sight as both racers had to withdraw from the race towards the final stages of the race with a fuel system problem. If Red Bull gets both cars to finish this race, we would be shocked to not see them both inside the top three.
Bahrain GP Race Prediction
- Max Verstappen
- Sergio Perez
- Charles Leclerc
- Lewis Hamilton
- Carlos Sainz
Bahrain GP Betting Picks
Race Winner
Verstappen is calm, cool, and collected, even in moments he gets heated his mind is always ready to pounce at any opportunity given to him. Sometimes his risk-taking in the past was poor or inexperienced, but these days we feel Verstappen has matured a lot and rarely gets into these scuffles as much.
We are going to lay -117 for the Red Bulls to win the first race, and specifically, Max Verstappen to kickstart the 2023 season where they left off last year. We predict a strong opening bounce-back Bahrain race with a 1-2 finish and Verstappen to be the race winner at -117.
Formula 1 Pick: Max Verstappen Win (-117) at BetOnline
Total Classified Drivers
The Bahrain GP has seen an average of 1.9 DNFs or non-classified finishes in the previous five races so when we see the sportsbooks offering us only -115 for 4 or fewer finishers, we had to place this bet.
We expected the odds to be around -200 for over 16.5 finishers in this race. On top of this, it’s worth noting only 2 of the previous 10 races at this circuit have seen five or more non-classified drivers.
We are happy to lay the -115 with over 16.5 finishers at this Bahrain GP. One might think opening race = crashes, but these drivers are so excited to get back to racing that the last thing they will want to do is risk their entire race for an early overtake that could be potentially damaging to their race.
Formula 1 Pick: Over 16.5 Finishers (-115) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
