F1 betting tips: 2024 Formula One season preview and best bets
F1 betting tips: 2024 season
3pts e.w. Mercedes winning constructor (without Red Bull) at 5/2 (bet365 1/3 1,2)
2pts Carlos Sainz to beat Charles Leclerc in drivers' championship at 9/4 (Sky Bet)
2pts Yuki Tsunoda to beat Daniel Ricciardo in drivers' championship at 6/5 (General)
2pts Guanyu Zhou to beat Valtteri Bottas in drivers' championship at 11/4 (bet365)
1pt trixie Sainz (2/1), Tsunoda (6/5) and Zhou (13/5) (Paddy Power, Betfair)
- A trixie is made up of four bets on three selections, with 3x doubles (AB, AC, BC) and 1x treble (ABC); two winners are required for a return
Pre-season testing has come and gone and so it seems have both the 2024 drivers' and constructors' championships.
Over the winter months, as most car designs converged closer to the most dominant car in Formula One history, Red Bull had switched concept and turned up to testing with a car akin to a 2023 Mercedes. But unlike the 2023 Mercedes, the Red Bull RB20 is rumoured to have an advantage of up to a second per lap on the chasing pack.
It is in that pack that I will be backing MERCEDES to chase Red Bull home in the without the favourite market.
Ferrari have shortened up in this market after a strong test that looks like they will have the upper hand in Bahrain. Rumours suggest that they addressed their trye degradation issues that plagued them on Sundays last season.
Unlike Ferrari, there were no flashy lap times from Toto Wolff’s drivers but the market has not reacted to the positivity in interviews coming from senior team members. Mercedes technical director James Allision was quoted as saying they had addressed the rear handling issues the drivers suffered from in 2023.
McLaren opened up as favourites in this market and have since drifted out behind Ferrari but with a poor testing and the team saying that not all desired upgrades have been completed in time, Mercedes have the upper hand.
I will be backing a strong season for Mercedes in Lewis Hamilton’s final one with the Silver Arrows. At 5/2 and getting 1/3 odds for a place in this market I am happy to have the small loss for the larger place price.
Season-long match bets
With new sponsors and a vibrant paint scheme, Sauber wanted to give connections something to cheer about by sticking GUANYU ZHOU on the fast tyres with low fuel at the end of testing. Zhou did a lap which was quick enough for fourth, which is about 12 places above where they will probably qualify.
Zhou continued his slow but steady growth with a mediocre season in 2023. Valtteri Bottas beat Zhou by four points in the championship despite only scoring points on one more occasion than him.
With points looking like a rarity for Sauber in 2024, whichever teammate is in position to take advantage when the places open will win this duel. I'm happy to be against the ageing Bottas in a match-up I'd have closer than the market has it.
Testing went smoothly for Ferrari as they look to have addressed issues with the car, which will give both of the drivers confidence for the upcoming season. The market has made Charles Leclerc heavy favourite even after the very close battle in 2023 where Leclerc got the better of the teammate battle by six points after the season finale.
It was CARLOS SAINZ’s strongest season in a Ferrari where he was on par with the Monegasque for the most part, and while there is a risk that Sainz will be ousted from his seat mid-season by Hamilton, I’m happy to get involved at 2/1 and bigger.
RB, VCARB, Alpha Tauri, Toro Rosso or whatever you call this team came away from Bahrain testing very happy with rumours that they may be on the tail of Aston Martin this weekend.
Since Daniel Riccardo's return, he has only scored points once (albeit via a stellar drive in Mexico) and YUKI TSUNODA has done so three times, beating the Aussie 4-3 in head-to-head in the process.
With both drivers at opposite ends of their career I'm happy to side with youth ahead of the Netflix star. I make Tsunoda favourite in their match-up.
Posted at 1240 GMT on 27/02/24
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