F1 Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix Odds & Picks

Another F1 race, another instance of Max Verstappen leading the odds board. Verstappen has been cruising through the 2023 season with only a couple of speed bumps getting in his way. He's again the betting favorite as F1 returns to Qatar in October.

Formula 1 returns to Losail International Circuit for the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, October 8.

The race was first held in 2021 but was off the calendar last year due to the FIFA World Cup. Lewis Hamilton took the checkered flag in the race's maiden voyage, but that seems like a lifetime ago and he's not exactly expected to repeat as winner.

Let's take a look at the early F1 betting odds as the season barrels toward crowning the 2023 F1 World Drivers' Champion.

Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix 2023 odds

Odds as of September 25, 2023.

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Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix 2023 starting grid

Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix 2023 pre-qualifying favorites

Max Verstappen (-400 to -450)

Max Verstappen finished second in Qatar in 2021 as he cruised to his first F1 championship later that season. He's understandably the overwhelming favorite to win it in 2023 as it returns to the schedule. Lewis Hamilton — and Mercedes in general — hasn't been at his accustomed level of competition this year, finishing second twice. In fact, since winning the 2021 Qatar GP, Hamilton has claimed just one more race victory (the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP) and has been kept from the top spot for nearly two years.

Verstappen finished fifth at Singapore two races ago, marking the first time he's missed a podium since last November (Sao Paolo GP), and is one of only three races he hasn't won in 2023. He rebounded to take first at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24. 

Lando Norris (+1,000 to +1,200)

Lando Norris has turned his season around in recent competitions, finishing second four times in seven races, including two straight in Singapore and Japan. His recent uptick in performance has seen him become one of the more highly-touted names on the betting board.

Norris finished ninth at Qatar in 2021 and despite his recent string of podiums, he has yet to win a race in F1.

Sergio Perez (+1,200)

Verstappen's Red Bull teammate is running in third on the odds board. Checo has generally helped establish Red Bull's dominance in 2023, finishing on the podium eight times. However, he was forced to retire from the Japan GP and finished a distant eighth in Singapore.

He was a fourth-place finish in 2021.

Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix opening odds reaction

Verstappen is the betting favorite, which has been the norm for essentially two years at this point. Prior Qatar GP winner Lewis Hamilton isn't quite a long shot, but he has not won a race since shortly after the 2021 running in Qatar. As a result, he can't be counted on as a dark horse.

Carlos Sainz pulled off a surprise win in Singapore two races ago, following his first podium of the year when he finished third in Italy, but immediately dropped back to sixth in Japan. His odds aren't exactly encouraging to win his second race of 2023 (which would be the third of his career).

This race has very little history to it, considering it debuted in 2021 and was preempted in favor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup a year ago, so there is little data to go on. As far as the odds are concerned, what little data is available is largely unimportant as it's Verstappen's world and only the odd blip has pushed him to the side over the last couple of years.

Understanding F1 betting odds

The most popular way to bet on Formula 1 odds is by simply picking the winner of a particular race. Other popular F1 betting options include which car/constructor will win and whether or not a particular race car driver will end up on the podium with a Top-3 finish.

F1 race odds usually look like this:

This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $1,400 if Perez wins that particular race. If one driver is especially dominant, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of that driver's odds like this:

This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on Verstappen winning the race.