We’re two rounds into the 2026 Formula 1 campaign, and it’s alright been quite the experience now heading into the third event of the year. The Japanese Grand Prix is on deck this time around, setting up an eventful weekend of action on the circuit before a multi-week break.
The race itself takes place at 1 a.m. EST on Sunday, March 29. Here, we’ll dive in for a look at the odds and lines leaderboard for the Japanese Grand Prix courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
2026 Japanese Grand Prix odds, field
The Japanese Grand Prix is one of the most storied F1 races in the sport. As has been the norm since 2009, the event will take place at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, Japan. The track’s figure-eight layout makes it unique and creates plenty of intrigue, with a length of 5.807 km and a total of 53 laps for the drivers. The S Curves in the opening stages precede a particularly sharp route at Turn 9 prior to a true hairpin at Turn 11, so there are certainly some areas that could create some danger.
To the surprise of seemingly nobody, the two favorites for the Japanese Grand Prix hail from the same team. DraftKings Sportsbook lists George Russell of Mercedes as a -175 favorite after opening the season with a win in Australia and a second-place finish in China two weeks ago. His -1000 odds to record a podium finish are far and away shorter than anyone else except his teammate, Kimi Antonelli. The latter became the first teenager to ever take pole position and subsequently won at the Chinese GP. He enters with +275 odds to win outright in Japan and -800 odds for a podium finish. Given Mercedes’ build — with its compression ratio controversy and blistering speed on the straightaways — and the team’s 1-2 finish in each of the first two events of the season, it’s no shock that the pair are bona fide favorites. They’ll likely remain that way in the majority of Formula 1 races for the foreseeable future as well, barring major strides from a competitor.
There’s a chasm between the Mercedes drivers and the remainder of the field on the odds leaderboard. Lewis Hamilton just took the first podium finish of his Ferrari tenure in China and holds the third-best odds to win (+850) and finish on the podium (-120) of any driver in the Japanese GP. However, he was still roughly 20 seconds back of Russell for second in the previous event, so there’s clearly work to be done. Teammate Charles Leclerc, who was fourth last time out and third in the opening race, comes in slightly behind him at +900 to win and -110 for the podium.
From there, nobody else comes even close. At fourth on the leaderboard is McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who had a DNS on both of the first two weekends of the campaign and now holds +2800 odds to win and +350 to end on the podium. Teammate Lando Norris also had a DNS in China as McLaren struggled with mechanical issues from the get-go and were left watching from the paddock. He holds identical odds to Piastri this time around. Sandwiched between the pair is Max Verstappen, who was a DNF at the Chinese Grand Prix and finished sixth in Australia as well. The Red Bull Racing star has experienced some serious struggles thus far and also comes in at +2800 to win but is lower on the board with +650 odds to finish top three.
The remainder of the field comes in with +13000 odds or longer to win the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix outright, holding a minimum of +3500 odds to record a podium result. It includes the following racers, with the figures next to their names indicating odds of a top-10 finish rather than a win or podium appearance:
- Isack Hadjar (-225)
- Pierre Gasly (-175)
- Oliver Bearman (-175)
- Nico Hulkenberg (+330)
- Liam Lawson (-105)
- Franco Colapinto (+185)
- Esteban Ocon (-105)
- Arvid Lindblad (+185)
- Gabriel Bortoleto (+330)
- Carlos Sainz (+500)
- Alexander Albon (+500)
- Valtteri Bottas (+2800)
- Sergio Perez (+2000)
- Lance Stroll (+2000)
- Fernando Alonso (+1200)
