2024 Bahrain Grand Prix Odds, Picks & Predictions: Max Verstappen Projected To Win First Race Of New Season
2024 Bahrain Grand Prix Odds, Picks & Predictions: Max Verstappen Projected To Win First Race Of New Season
The F1 season is back in action on Saturday!
The first race will occur at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.
In the race, there are 57 laps and 15 turns. The circuit length is 5.412 km.
All of the drivers have already finished three free practice rounds. In Free Practice 3, Carlos Sainz finished with the fastest race time after driving 18 laps.
He's currently fourth on the odds leaderboard to win this race. So will the Ferrari driver get a head start over last year's winner, Max Verstappen and earn a massive upset in the first race?
Let's break down F1's first event of 2024 below!
2024 Bahrain Grand Prix Start Time, Where to Watch, and Odds
When: March 2nd, 2023, 10:00 AM ET
How to Watch: ESPN
Where: Bahrain International Circuit
2024 Bahrain Grand Prix Betting Odds The Favorite: Max Verstappen (-250) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
Max Verstappen is a three-time world champion after winning the championship in 2021, 2022, and 2023 championships.
He's just one more championship away from tying Lewis Hamilton's longest streak of four consecutive wins.
Hamilton has seven championships, but has only strung four consecutive championships together.
Since 2014, only three different racers have been crowned champions. That bodes well for Verstappen, who has been at the top of his game.
He was the previous winner of the Bahrain GP after finishing with a time of 1:33:56.736. Sergio Perez finished behind him in second place, helping Red Bull win the top two spots in last year's event.
After all, Verstappen came in first place in 19 of 22 events last year. So, it truly makes perfect sense that he would be a heavy favorite. But to play devil's advocate, he's only won this race once in ten tries. So he's undoubtedly not a lock.
Sneaky Pick: Carlos Sainz (+1800) Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
Carlos Sainz finished with the strongest race time in Free Practice 3. He ultimately set the pace and finished ahead of Verstappen.
Sainz was the fastest in soft tire runs, over Fernando Alonso and Verstappen.
Sainz has won in other venues, including last year's win at Singapore Grand Prix. He also had three podium finishes in 2023 and could have even more in 2024.
If Not Verstappen, Then Who?
First, make sure to stay away from George Russell. He's at +1400 at BetMGM, but most books have him way below that. Russell only added two podium finishes last year and has only finished fourth and seven in two starts with Mercedes in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
However, Charles Leclerc is also someone to keep an eye on. He's second on the odds board (+1100) and has real potential to win this race.
He added two pole possessions and three podium finishes in the season's final four races.
Formula One ODDS
Jason grew up an avid sports fan. His passion for sports writing grew in high school and he developed a blog that was strictly for New York Sports. From his work, you will quickly realize that he loves looking at games from an analytical and numbers perspective and hopes to provide you with that same perspective in his articles.