Max Cannot Be Sensibly Backed to Win F1’s World Championship
At 1/12, the odds on Max Verstappen winning Formula One’s 2022 World Drivers’ Championship are prohibitive. The Dutchman has won eight of the 13 races staged this season. In the standings he now leads Charles Leclerc by 258 points to 178.
The bookmakers make Max Verstappen unbackable. But 6/4 about George Russell outscoring Sergio Perez has real merit. ©GettyImages
Just nine races remain. The first of these – the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps – takes place on August 28 when the sport resumes following its four-week summer shutdown. Given the nature of the Belgian circuit, the race is likely to favor the Red Bull team. It means Max Verstappen could pad out his points lead even further.
Leclerc Is Favorite in the ‘Best of the Rest’ Market
Such is the dominance of Red Bull’s number one driver, the top Formula One bookmakers have introduced fresh betting markets that exclude the reigning World Champion in an effort to stimulate betting interest.
In a ‘betting without Max Verstappen’ market, we found in William Hill betting review that the sportsbook has Charles Leclerc priced at 4/7. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez follow at 13/2. Carlos Sainz is 7/1 and George Russell can be backed at 15/2.
These prices make a bet365 season-long Drivers’ Championship match-up betting market interesting. A standout proposition is the 6/4 on offer about George Russell finishing ahead of Sergio Perez. Russell currently trails Perez by 158 points to 173.
Perez may have won in Monaco but there was a lot of good fortune involved with his victory. Since that late May afternoon, the Red Bull driver has claimed just two podium finishes. During the same period, teammate Max Verstappen won four races and took an additional second place.
Can Consistent Russell Catch and Pass Perez?
The Mexican’s performance drop-off has been noticed by Red Bull kingpin Helmut Marko. The team’s advisor publicly criticized the 32-year-old ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix after he had qualified in eleventh. That day he progressed to finish fifth. But Verstappen, starting just ahead in tenth, went on to win the race.
As a defined number-two driver, Perez will always struggle for race wins. But, regularly given a strategy designed to only benefit Verstappen and with an additional loss of his raw pace, the season’s concluding races could be very difficult for him.
Russell is currently 15 points adrift of Perez. Since Monaco, the Brit has amassed 69 World Drivers’ Championship points. Perez has scored 58. If the current scoring rate of both drivers remains constant, the Englishman will forge ahead by the penultimate Grand Prix of the year in Brazil.
However, with Russell’s Mercedes team finding improved performance race-on-race and the 24-year-old displaying great consistency – that has seen him finish fifth or better in his 12 completed race starts – he could seize the advantage much earlier.
Six More Max Before the Season’s End?
If you are looking for something bigger than 6/4 and are content with the prospect of the remainder of the season being a Verstappen cakewalk, head to William Hill. One of the best betting sites for Formula One, William Hill is quoting odds of 4/1 about the 28-time race winner collecting 14 or more race victories by the end of the 2021 season.
Could we witness six more Verstappen celebrations before the end of the 2022 season? ©GettyImages/RedBullContent
It means Verstappen will have to win six of the final nine races on the calendar. Understanding Formula One’s youngest race winner has won seven of the last ten contests, the probability is reasonable and the price does seem generous.
In 2014, 2018 and 2020 Hamilton successfully achieved six or more race wins within the final nine races of the season. Remarkably, in 2013 Sebastian Vettel won the concluding nine races of the year. These results suggest that the 4/1 quote on 14-plus Verstappen race wins during 2022 is more than generous. It is charitable.
