Formula 1 picks, odds, start time, grid: 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix predictions, F1 bets from advanced model
The Formula 1 season will begin on Saturday with the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix. The Bahrain International Circuit has been a fixture on the F1 schedule since 2004 and the 15-turn, 3.363-mile track has been home to nail-biting racing over the years. Lewis Hamilton is a five-time winner in Bahrain and will try to end a two-year winless streak on Saturday. The green flag will drop at 10 a.m. ET. Hamilton is +800 in the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix odds, while defending champion Max Verstappen is the -275 favorite.
Verstappen and Hamilton are followed by Verstappen's Red Bull Racing teammate, Sergio Perez (+1200), Hamilton's Mercedes teammate, George Russell (+1400), and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc (+1600). Before analyzing the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix starting grid and making any Formula 1 picks, be sure to check out the latest 2024 Bahrain GP predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results. It's had a strong history of success in motorsports, correctly predicting nine NASCAR winners since the 2021 season and its projected leaderboards have forecasted winners across multiple racing formats.
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 surprise victory.
The model followed that up by calling Verstappen's win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and then nailed his wins again in Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. It's also nailed all 19 of Verstappen's wins during the 2023 season. Anyone who followed the model's lead on those plays has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has dialed in on the 2024 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. You can head to SportsLine now to see the complete 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix projected leaderboard.
Top 2024 Formula 1 Bahrain GP predictions
One surprise: The model is fading Russell even though he's one of the top favorites. The 26-year-old Englishman had six third-place finishes and a win in Sao Paolo on his way to finishing fourth in the standings in 2022 but he took a step back in 2023.
Russell finished eighth in the standings while Hamilton finished third and he collected 100 fewer points than he did the previous season. Russell only hit the podium twice in 2023 and he was a disappointing seven in the Bahrain Grand Prix to open the season. Now the model is projecting another disastrous start, predicting that he finishes eighth on the grid. See who else the model is backing and fading at the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix right here.
How to make 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix picks
Instead, the model is also targeting two drivers going off at longer than 25-1 to make surprising surges up the leaderboard. Anyone who backs them could hit it big. You can find out who they are, and see all of the model's F1 picks and predictions, at SportsLine.
2024 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix odds, field, top contenders
Max Verstappen -275Lewis Hamilton +800Sergio Perez +1200George Russell +1400Charles Leclerc +1600Carlos Sainz +2800Fernando Alonso +2800Lando Norris +4000Oscar Piastri +5000Daniel Ricciardo +20000Lance Stroll +25000Yuki Tsunoda +25000Alexander Albon +50000Logan Sargeant +100000Esteban Ocon +150000Guanyu Zhou +150000Valtteri Bottas +150000Pierre Gasly +150000Kevin Magnussen +250000
