The 2024 Formula 1 season got underway in Bahrain last weekend, which, as the first of a record-breaking 24 races this year, means the next one is just days away as the drivers head to Jeddah for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
However, the Red Bull dominance of 2023 has continued into the new season, with defending world champion Max Verstappen cruising to victory at the Bahrain International Circuit in last weekend's opening race. A winning margin of over 22 seconds, ahead of his team-mate Sergio Perez, established the flying Dutchman as the man to beat in 2024.
The rest of the chasing pack were well off the pace last weekend too, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc finishing third and fourth respectively, and the British trio of George Russell, Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton further back in the points-scoring positions.
With race number two coming up this weekend, 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 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024 odds to win
Having won the season opener in convincing style — and by a time difference of over 22 seconds in Bahrain — Max Verstappen's odds of victory in Jeddah are even shorter than last week as the second race of the campaign gets underway.
Although he finished second behind Red Bull team-mate Perez in last year's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen's dominant showing in Sakhir has resulted in BetMGM offering a moneyline lean of -400 going into this race. Mexico's Perez is second in the predicted running on +800, showing the size of the chasm between Verstappen and the rest even this early in the season.
While both Verstappen and Perez's odds of victory in Jeddah are shorter than last weekend's predictions for Bahrain, BetMGM believe the chasing pack could be even further behind this time around, with Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris the closest challengers on +1200 and +1600 moneyline leans respectively.
Only nine of the 20 drivers have moneyline leans of less than +10000 ahead of this season's second race, with Sainz, Hamilton and Russell slightly further back on +2000. Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso complete that group, eight of whom will hoping they can challenge Verstappen's one-sided dominance from the off in Jeddah.
Odds via BetMGM (USA), correct as of Wednesday, March 6.
| Driver | US (BetMGM) |
| Max Verstappen | -400 |
| Sergio Perez | +800 |
| Charles Leclerc | +1200 |
| Lando Norris | +1600 |
| Carlos Sainz | +2000 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +2000 |
| George Russell | +2000 |
| Oscar Piastri | +4000 |
| Fernando Alonso | +6600 |
| Lance Stroll | +25000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | +30000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +30000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +30000 |
| Alexander Albon | +50000 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +50000 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +50000 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +50000 |
| Logan Sargeant | +100000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +150000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +150000 |
MORE: Predictions and best bets for the 2024 Formula One season
F1 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024: Best bet
- Pick: Race-winning margin of between 5 seconds and 10 seconds
- Moneyline lean: +330 (DraftKings)
While Verstappen's victory last weekend in Bahrain saw the Dutchman finish ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Perez by almost 22.5 seconds, some tracks across the global circuit are better known for close-run finishes and being less expansive than others.
The Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia is arguably one of those, with last year's winner Perez pipping Verstappen to the chequered flag by 5.355 seconds. Despite Verstappen coming back to win 18 of the next 20 races on his way to a third-straight world title, this race presents an early-season chance for the other 19 drivers to slow his momentum.
After winning this season's opening race at a canter, it's not going to be easy for Perez and the rest of the chasing pack to close the gap on Verstappen, though DraftKings think it's likely that whoever does win this race will do so by a much narrower margin.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024: Prop bet
- Pick: Verstappen to finish ahead of Perez, Hamilton to finish ahead of Russell, Leclerc to finish ahead of Sainz, Norris to finish ahead of Piastri and Alonso to finish ahead of Stroll
- Moneyline lean: +600 (BetMGM)
This prop bet of +600 from BetMGM is certainly multi-faceted, in a price boost which tracks 10 different team placing across the 20-driver race, but given all but two of the listed placings were achieved in the season's opening race, there's a good chance of this line-up being set in stone after the chequered flag on Saturday.
Russell and Sainz were the exceptions last weekend in Bahrain, finishing two and one places ahead of Hamilton and Leclerc respectively, but you'd back the latter duo — who will be team-mates at Ferrari next season — to respond with strong showings in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024: Flier bet
- Pick: Verstappen to win by 10.999+ seconds, set fastest lap, and Red Bull to complete the fastest pit stop
- Moneyline lean: +650 (BetMGM)
Last weekend's results showed that for all the offseason preparations done to stem the flow of Max Verstappen and Red Bull's dominance on the grid, the three-time world champion still stands head and shoulders above the rest as the second race of 2024 begins.
A winning margin of 22.457 seconds, as well as an extra point in the championship standings for securing the fastest lap in the race, suggests that surpassing Verstappen in this week's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix could well prove to be an insurmountable task despite this period being the formative stage of the 2024 campaign.
As such, BetMGM are offering a price boost on Verstappen winning by over 10.999 seconds in Jeddah, as well as completing the fastest lap and either himself or Perez being the recipient of the fastest pit stop in the race. We know this goes against our best bet above but we're covering our tracks in case Verstappen does blitz his opponents once again by more than 10.999 seconds. That +650 moneyline lean won't come easily, but given Verstappen achieved all three last weekend, he's well-placed to make it two such victories from two.
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