The 20 drivers in this year's Formula One World Championship have arrived at one of the most iconic circuits on the entire motorsporting calendar, as we gear up for the 2024 edition of the Monaco Grand Prix.
After a loss to Lando Norris in Miami three weeks ago, in which the Brit sealed his first career race win, back-to-back-to-back world champion Max Verstappen returned to the top of the podium once more in last Sunday's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, beating Norris by less than a second.
Having been pushed closer for a victory than in any race so far this season, Verstappen will know that the emergence of Norris will put him under serious threat once again this week, particularly in the twists and tight turns of the Circuit de Monaco. Charles Leclerc, at his home circuit, will also look to cause the Dutchman further problems having finished seven seconds off the pace in third at Imola.
Norris and Leclerc's McLaren and Ferrari team-mates Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz finished fourth and fifth respectively, while there was also a return to form for Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. Hamilton finished sixth — his best result of the season so far — for the second race running, on place ahead of fellow Brit Russell, who recorded the race's fastest lap in the 54th to earn an extra world championship point.
Sergio Perez had a day to forget at Imola, finishing almost a minute behind his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen and languishing in eighth, with Lance Stroll and Yuki Tsunoda rounding off the top 10.
Tsunoda and the rest of the pack all finished over a lap behind the Dutchman, but the nature of Circuit de Monaco should make this weekend's upcoming race a much closer affair. It's the second of 10 European races on the calendar in 2024, and is arguably the race in Formula One, forming one third of the Triple Crown of Motorsport.
As the eighth race of the 2024 F1 season gets underway, The Sporting News have gone through all the odds offered by our partner bookmakers to come up with the best bets, tips and predictions you'll need ahead of the next Grand Prix.
F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2024 odds to win
After pipping Norris to the post to record his fifth race win from seven attempts so far in 2024, Max Verstappen is once again the favourite to make it six victories from eight in Monaco this weekend.
However, for seemingly the first time this season, the Dutchman's odds have widened massively, with BetMGM dropping his moneyline lead from -400 to -167. Meanwhile, the odds for both Leclerc and Norris, both out to depose Verstappen at the top of the podium, have shortened, with Norris dropping from +525 to a +450 moneyline and Leclerc making a huge jump from +1000 to become second-favourite at +400!
The remainder of the field is beginning to narrow too, with Piastri the surprise fourth favourite amongst BetMGM's odds with odds of +900. The poor showings by both Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez — the only drivers other than Verstappen to win a single race in 2023 — at Imola have been reflected in their odds too, blowing out to +1600 and +1800 respectively.
There's then another huge jump to the outsiders on BetMGM's grid of predictions, with Fernando Alonso given a +6600 moneyline despite finishing dead last of the 19 drivers to complete the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last time out. Recording Imola's fastest lap hardly moves the needle for George Russell, who is way back at a +8000 lean, ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton's +10000.
| Driver | US (BetMGM) |
| Max Verstappen | -167 |
| Charles Leclerc | +400 |
| Lando Norris | +450 |
| Oscar Piastri | +900 |
| Carlos Sainz | +1600 |
| Sergio Perez | +1800 |
| Fernando Alonso | +6600 |
| George Russell | +8000 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +10000 |
| Lance Stroll | +25000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +30000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +30000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +30000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +40000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | +50000 |
| Alexander Albon | +100000 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +100000 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +200000 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +200000 |
| Logan Sargeant | +200000 |
Odds via BetMGM (USA), correct as of Thursday May 23.
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F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2024: Best bet
- Pick: Charles Leclerc to qualify in pole position
- Moneyline lean: +260 (DraftKings)
Verstappen has made starting at the head of the grid his own this season (much akin to the last three), qualifying on pole for each of the seven races we've seen so far in 2024. However, as he prepares for potentially his best chance yet to win his home race, we reckon Charles Leclerc could be in line to break that monopoly this weekend.
DraftKings have Leclerc's odds of doing so currently at a +260 moneyline lean, with Verstappen near-evens on +160 at the top of the favourites leaderboard. However, Leclerc has recorded the fastest lap on two occasions already this season, and if he can can bring that kind of form to his home circuit on the streets of Monaco, he will fancy his chances of starting at the head of the pack come race-day.
F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2024: Prop bet
Very few predicted just how tight the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was going to be last weekend, particularly given that Verstappen won both the 2021 and 2022 editions by over 14 seconds. The fact that Norris came within 0.725 seconds at Imola suggests that the World Drivers' Championship could really start to heat up, and as such we're predicting another tight race in Monaco.
BetMGM have the relatively narrow winning margin of between two and 3.999 seconds currently standing at a +400 moneyline lean, and while another photo-finish like last weekend's at Imola could be on the cards given the nature of Circuit de Monaco, we think that the race winner — likely Verstappen — will have just enough in their tank to pull a few seconds clear of the chasing pack when the chequered flag comes into view.
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F1 Monaco Grand Prix 2024: Flier bet
- Pick: The race to end with less than 15.5 classified finishers
- Moneyline lean: +650 (DraftKings)
The Circuit de Monaco brings unique challenges to the F1 circuit which all 20 of the drivers have to adapt to: tight spaces, a linear layout across the streets of Monte Carlo, and hairpin-level corners coming right after the few areas in which any of the cars can hit top speed.
In such circumstances, collisions and retirements are likely, and we could see the safety car on more than one occasion this weekend. Each driver will undoubtedly alter their usual gameplan to suit the street circuit at Monte Carlo, but with DraftKings offering a moneyline lean of +650 for at least five of them to not finish the race, few other tracks will come close to seeing that offer come good.
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