2024 Formula 1 schedule, F1 picks, odds: Bahrain Grand Prix projected leaderboard, start time, race prediction from top model

The 2024 Formula 1 season will begin on Saturday with the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix on the Bahrain International Circuit. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 10 a.m. ET. Red Bull Racing is coming off a historic season where it managed to win 21 of the 22 races and Max Verstappen's 19 wins were the most by a single driver in the history of the sport. So can Red Bull continue its dominance to win a third consecutive constructors' championship and can Verstappen win a fourth drivers' title in a row?

Verstappen is the -275 favorite (bet $275 to win $100) in the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix odds while teammate Sergio Perez is priced at +1200. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is priced at +800 in this week's Formula 1 odds while his teammate George Russell is +1400 and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is +1600.

SportsLine's proven computer projection model simulated the Bahrain GP 2024 10,000 times and come up with a surprising leaderboard.

Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model takes into account a slew of factors including track history and recent results.

The model has been scorching hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 race events dating back to 2021. It nailed both of Charles Leclerc's wins in 2022, and at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, the model was strongly backing Verstappen as its top pick. The result: Verstappen dominated the field and ran away with a surprising victory. 

It followed that up by calling Verstappen's win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and nailed Verstappen to win in Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. It also called all 19 of Verstappen's wins during the 2023 season. Anyone who followed the model's lead on those plays has seen HUGE returns!

The Bahrain International Circuit opened in 2004 and it has hosted an F1 event every year but one since. The 15-turn track measures in at 3.363 miles and Verstappen is the race's defending champion. It was the champion's first victory in Bahrain and was the third time that Red Bull Racing has taken the top spot on the podium. Hamilton's five Bahrain Grand Prix victories are the most in history.

Now, the model has dialed in on the 2024 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. 

We can tell you the model is fading Russell even though he's the fourth-favorite (+1400). Russell bested legendary his legendary teammate (Hamilton) in 2022 with a fourth-place finish in the F1 standings but regressed a bit in 2023, finishing eighth in the table while Hamilton finished third.

A winner in Sao Paolo in 2022, Russell only managed two podium finishes in 2023 and his struggles very nearly caused Mercedes to fall behind Ferrari in the constructors' standings (they beat Ferrari by three points). He's finished fourth and seventh in two starts with Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix and the model is expecting an even more disappointing finish on Saturday.

The model is also targeting one driver getting 25-1 or better in the Bahrain Grand Prix odds to make a serious charge up the leaderboard! Anyone who backs this driver could hit it BIG. You ABSOLUTELY need to see who he is before locking in any Formula 1 Bahrain GP picks of your own.