Bahrain Grand Prix Odds, Picks & Predictions 2024: Verstappen Heavy Favorite to Win Again

sportsbookreview.com

29 February 2024

A brand new Formula 1 season begins this weekend with our Bahrain Grand Prix picks and predictions based on the F1 odds from our best F1 betting sites.

Four months ago, Max Verstappen took home his 19th checkered flag of the 2023 Formula 1 season at Abu Dhabi. He will look to pick up where he left off and secure his first win of the season this weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix - where he won last year en route to his third straight drivers' championship.

Saturday's race marks the start of the 2024 F1 season as 20 of the world’s best drivers attempt to dethrone the king. Last year, Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin jumped out of the box quickly but couldn't sustain the success. Instead, it was slow-starting McLaren - led by Lando Norris - that turned the heat up on Verstappen and Red Bull as the season progressed.

The always looming threat of Ferrari and Mercedes still remains, and each team looks to claim the top spot on the leaderboards. This week represents a fresh slate and the opportunity to get off to a hot start.

Here are our 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix picks and predictions based on the F1 odds for Bahrain International Circuit (odds via our best sports betting sites; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).

Bahrain Grand Prix picks

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Bahrain Grand Prix odds 2024

Odds as of Thursday at 6:55 p.m. ET

Bahrain Grand Prix predictions

Favorite: Max Verstappen (-250 via BetMGM) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Those who are familiar with Formula 1 are used to seeing this monster number when it comes to Verstappen’s outright price.

While it seems outrageous to set a line so heavily juiced, the fact that the reigning champion won 19 of 22 races last season should explain it all. So, even if you were to absorb the vig from week to week on a Verstappen outright, you would have still been profitable.

However, the fact that he failed to win three races last season means that he isn't a lock to win them all. On top of that, Verstappen has only one win in ten tries on this circuit. His average finish is 10.8, and he actually has not even finished the race five times.

Thankfully, the books give us more creative ways to bet on Verstappen to win, so it’s best to take advantage of those. That said, if you find a way to make this outright bet work for you, history tells you it’s the right bet.

Long shot: Lando Norris (+2900 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐

The first eight races of the season were not kind to Lando Norris, who had only three points finishes in that span with five finishes of 13th or worse.

Things quickly turned around after his fourth-place finish in Austria, which started a string of 12 straight top-10 finishes. Of those, six of them were for second place. He closed out the season with a fifth-place showing in Abu Dhabi.

His track history here is likely driving his odds rather than his success from last season. He has a 9.3 average finish in Sakhir. However, he does have two fourth-place finishes and a sixth-place outing to his credit here.

Prop: McLaren fastest pit stop (+300 via DraftKings) ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Much of the late-season success for McLaren came from its work in the pits. The team finished with the third-most points in the overall DHL Fastest Pit Stop standings behind Red Bull and Ferrari.

McLaren registered three of the top five fastest pit stops of the season and six out of the top ten. They turned the fastest pit stop overall in six races last year and had several inside the top three just fractions of a second off the leader.

For clarification, this ticket is decided by the team with the lowest total of stationary time in their pits. Time on and off pit road is not factored into this bet.

Bahrain Grand Prix info

Date: Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. ET
Location: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain
How to watch: ESPN
Defending winner: Max Verstappen

Bahrain Grand Prix picks made Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET