F1 odds: Max Verstappen sits as heavy favorite to win 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix

F1 is back! The 2024 season gets underway this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix and Max Verstappen is back as the heavy favorite across the board.

Verstappen heads into the first practices of the season with -360 odds to win the race at DraftKings Sportsbook. Charles Leclerc follows at +1000, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton are +1400, and Carlos Sainz is +16000.

Verstappen is also a heavy favorite to win his fourth straight season-long drivers’ championship. He is -650 with Leclerc a distance second at +1200. Hamilton and Lando Norris follow at +1400 and then it drops to Sainz at +2200.

The odds reflect the expectation that Verstappen will once again dominate the circuit. Last year, he clinched the drivers’ championship during the sprint race ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, meaning he clinched the title with six full races remaining in the season. He returns to the Bahrain International Circuit as the defending champ, although Leclerc won it in 2022 if you’re looking for an upset pick.

This year’s Bahrain Grand Prix weekend starts a day earlier than previous years because of Ramadan. The Islamic holy month starts on March 10, which would be the day F1 runs the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The circuit moved that race up a day, and due to FIA regulations requiring a week between races, had to also move the Bahrain race up a day.