The Formula 1 season is at the halfway mark in 2022 following Round 13 in Budapest. TheSportsGeek is going through the most recent F1 season betting odds and evaluating what has transpired so far. Teams are currently on vacation until Round 14 at the end of August.
The next race on the F1 schedule is in Belgium for the F1 Rolex Belgian Grand Prix 2022 on August 28.
Have there been any surprises to note thus far this season? Much has gone according to plan, but there have been some surprising details to note. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes’ slow start might be the biggest shocker and not Ferrari competing. Ferrari looked strong in pre-season testing, so they were expected to improve.
What we have to ask is if anyone can catch Max Verstappen by Round 18 in Abu Dhabi. Spoiler: this isn’t shaping up to be a thrilling finish like we had last season between Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen.
The 2021 campaign went down to the final lap, with Verstappen ultimately winning after race director Michael Masi made a decision that will be remembered for years to come.
Masi allowed five lapped cars to clear Lewis Hamilton to go back on the lead lap, with Verstappen pulling behind Hamilton on fresh tyres.
Mercedes planned the race out well and would have cruised to a win despite having older tyres than Verstappen on the final laps. In 2022, there doesn’t look like there is going to be any controversy. The F1 season odds suggest that Verstappen will have little competition over the next few months.
IMPRESSIVE START, BUT SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS
Ferrari got off to a lightning-quick start this season. They were fast in testing before the season opened, so it wasn’t the biggest surprise. We had them circled as a potential surprise team, but they’ve been unable to get out of their own way.
2022 Formula 1 Season Betting Odds
The following odds are courtesy of Bovada
F1 Drivers’ World Championship Betting Odds:
Odds
Driver
Team
-1200
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
+750
Charles Leclrec
Ferrari
+5000
George Russell
Mercedes
+5000
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
+10000
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Ferrari
+25000
Sergio Perez
Red Bull
+30000
Daniel Ricciardo
McLaren
+30000
Fernando Alonso
Alpine
+30000
Lando Norris
McLaren
+40000
Esteban Ocon
Alpine
+40000
Kevin Magnussen
Haas
+40000
Pierre Gasly
Haas
+40000
Sebastian Vettel
Aston Martin
+40000
Valtteri Bottas
Alfa Romeo
F1 Constructors’ Championship Betting Odds:
Team Principal
Odds
Team
Christian Horner
-800
Red Bull
Mattia Binotto
+600
Ferrari
Toto Wolff
+1600
Mercedes
Franz Tost
+300000
AlphaTauri
Otmar Szafnauer
+300000
Alpine
Guenther Steiner
+300000
Haas
Andreas Seidl
+300000
McLaren
Frederic Vasseur
+300000
Alfa Romeo
Mike Crack
+300000
Aston Martin
Jost Capito
+400000
Williams
2022 F1 Drivers’ World Championship Predictions
Max Verstappen is carrying the workload for Red Bull in the 2022 season. That’s to be expected. While Charles Leclerc and Verstappen battle at the top of the podium, the secondary jostling between Red Bull and Ferrari is Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Perez and Sainz have both had their moments in the first half of the campaign.
Perez won for Red Bull at the Monaco GP after taking advantage of a miscue by Leclerc and Ferrari. Overtaking is next to impossible at Monaco and it was going to have to take an error or mechanical problem for Leclerc to lose after qualifying P1.
Leclerc was called into the pits prematurely by his team, allowing Perez to seize the opportunity.
Perez is P3 in the standings behind Leclerc and Verstappen with 173 points. He’s running well for Red Bull and doing what is asked. Verstappen can’t ask for a better teammate.
Sainz won his first career race on July 3 at Silverstone in the British GP>
Despite six podiums and a win, the same as Verstappen, Red Bull has been more consistent. This goes for Verstappen and Leclerc as well. Leclerc has had his moments, but Red Bull has Verstappen much more efficiently and consistently than Ferrari does with Leclerc.
Verstappen has the edge over Leclerc while Perez should continue to edge out Sainz. Considering the reliability problems for Ferrari, don’t be surprised if we see plenty of P1 and P2 for Red Bull in the second half of the season.
F1 betting odds for the Constructors at -800 doesn’t look like much value, but I’d have this at -1500 or more for Red Bull. TheSportsGeek already has a -110 bet on Red Bull to win the Constructors and will be adding more.
Mercedes is coming on nicely with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell. I have more confidence in that team running better than Ferrari. Red Bull clears with Verstappen and Checo.
F1 Season Betting Odds (Constructors)
2022 F1 World Constructors’ Championship Predictions
Charles Leclerc (+750)
This is our updated Drivers’ Championship prediction for 2022 through Round 13. TheSportsGeek had an in-season pick earlier in the year, selecting Red Bull for the Constructors and Max Verstappen to win the Drivers’ Championship.
We made the bet when Charles Leclerc had the lead in the standings. At a time when it was clear reliability would be a problem for Ferrari.
What has changed since that bet? Everything is going as predicted. Ferrari’s reliability and consistency problems have been on full display.
BEGINNING OF THE END AT MONACO
Monaco was a must-win race for Leclerc. He’s wanted this race in front of the home crowd, but was never able to fulfill the requirements. Leclerc had the best car going into the 2022 Monaco GP and only has P4 to show for the effort.
That was the moment you knew that this season was going downhill for Ferrari. The body language and look on Leclerc’s face pretty well said summed it up. If it isn’t a mental error like at Monaco, it’s mechanical problems preventing Leclerc from finishing events strong.
Leclerc has three DNFs this season. He had a big chance at the French GP, but had to drop out of that race with the lead, giving Verstappen an easy win by more than 10 seconds.
Ferrari took a bit of a gamble and improved their machine for speed and performance. However, this came oftentimes reduce reliability on the track. When he’s running, Leclerc has a fast racecar. He has won multiple pole positions this year.
It was a gamble well worth taking, and I’d say it’s worked out given Leclerc has won races and is involved in the Drivers’ Championship in 2022. This is much more than they could say last year. That said, Ferrari has work to do in the offseason because this season looks like all Verstappen now.
Max Verstappen (-1200)
This is the updated F1 season odds for Verstappen following a win in Round 13 at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Despite starting back at P10 because of an engine change after issues in qualifying, he picked through his foes and won the race by over 7 seconds.
Verstappen’s car hasn’t been perfect mechanically this season, but much more consistent than Leclerc.
When it’s firing on all cylinders, Ferrari doesn’t have much of an answer for Red Bull. After the slow start from Red Bull and surprising the world with the improvements from Ferrari, Verstappen is off and running.
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Verstappen has control of the Drivers’ Championship standings going into Round 14. He has eight wins and ten podiums for 258 points. Leclerc is trialing with three wins and eight podiums for 178 points.
Unless something really goes awry for Red Bull, Verstappen and Red Bull have a notable advantage over their rivals. Mercedes is going to be interesting next year, but they’re coming on too late and don’t have enough to compete in 2022.
Verstappen’s F1 season betting odds at -1200 just about provide no value, but the true odds to win the Drivers’ Championship are probably closer to -2500. We backed Verstappen to win at -120 earlier in the season and in a very confident position going into Round 14.
F1 Season Betting Odds (Drivers’ Championship)
Opening 2022 Formula 1 Season Betting Odds
The following odds are courtesy of Bovada
F1 Drivers’ World Championship Betting Odds:
Driver
Odds
Team
Max Verstappen
-120
Red Bull
Charles Leclerc
+120
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton
+2800
Mercedes
George Russell
+4000
Mercedes
Carlos Sainz Jr.
+6000
Ferrari
Sergio Perez
+6600
Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo
+100000
McLaren
Fernando Alonso
+100000
Alpine
F1 Constructors’ Championship Betting Odds:
Team Principal
Odds
Team
Mattia Binotto
-110
Ferrari
Christian Horner
-110
Red Bull
Toto Wolff
+2000
Mercedes
Franz Tost
+100000
AlphaTauri
Otmar Szafnauer
+10000
Alpine
Guenther Steiner
+100000
Haas
Andreas Seidl
+100000
McLaren
Frederic Vasseur
+150000
Alfa Romeo
Mike Crack
+250000
Aston Martin
Williams
+400000
Jost Capito
2022 F1 Drivers’ World Championship Predictions
The rest of the 2022 season is going to come down to whether Max Verstappen can stay on the track. Verstappen has retired from two races this season.
He complained about steering problems in the opener at the Bahrain GP and received a DNF.
After winning the Saudi Arabain Grand Prix in an impressive response in Round 2, Verstappen DNF the next race in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix. Verstappen is only 19 points behind Charles Leclerc despite those two missteps and receiving no points.
When Verstappen has stayed on the track, he’s had a fast car and looks like the one to beat. Since dropping out of the race in Australia, Verstappen has finished P1 in back-to-back races in Italy and the US in the first-ever Miami Grand Prix.There were absolutely no complaints from Verstappen in those races. His car was responsive and fast. Verstappen had the best car and was the best driver in Miami by a mile. If it wasn’t for the safety car coming out, he would have blown Lerclerc away by more than ten seconds. Verstappen did win qualifying at the Miami Grand Prix. Despite Leclerc running the fastest in qualifying, Verstappen made easy work of Leclerc and reeled him in to take over P1.
Back to my original question of whether Verstappen can stay on the racetrack. Verstappen has won every race that he’s completed this season. He has three wins in five races in 2022.
Red Bull has appeared to work out the kinks, and Verstappen’s machine had no problems in Italy and Miami.
He is behind in the World Championship standings at the moment, but 19 points is more than manageable to overcome this early in the season. I would get on Verstappen to win soon before his 2022 F1 season odds are unbeatable at a steep price.
2022 F1 World Constructors’ Championship Predictions
Handicapping the World Constructors’ Championship is all about Leclerc and Verstappen’s teammates. My thoughts regarding Verstappen vs. Leclerc are known, so now to establish the winner between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz Jr.
Perez is going into Round 6 in the Spanish Grand Prix third in the Constructors with 66 points and two podiums. Sainz Jr. is coming off P3 in the Miami Grand Prix and fifth with 53 points.
He didn’t look too thrilled after the race, but that was a solid performance for Ferrari to go P2 and P3. Expect Perez and Sainz Jr. to continue to exchange blows this season. They will likely trade points, with that likely being enough for Red Bull.
Enough for Red Bull because I’m confident that Verstappen is going to find the top of the podium frequently. Verstappen should carry Red Bull, with Perez doing well to find the podium to keep going neck to beck with Sainz Jr. down the stretch.
Red Bull currently trails by 6 points in the Constructors with 151 points to Ferrari’s 157 points. Expect that lead to fade for Ferrari as Verstappen continues to edge out Leclerc on the podium. His early-season problems are rectified, and Red Bull should be off and clear now.
Formula 1 Season Opening Odds
The 2022 Formula 1 season will open on March 20 in Bahrain for the Bahrain Grand Prix 2022. The campaign concludes with Round 22 on November 20 in Abu Dhabi.
Lewis Hamilton knows all about Abu Dhabi, and he doesn’t want to revisit what happened last year. With a Drivers’ Championship in his clutches, the yellow flag was brought out at Abu Dhabi last in the final moments of the season.
#F1 2022 CALENDAR REVEALED ?
A record-high 2⃣3⃣ races sees Miami set to make its debut, while Australia, Canada, Singapore and Japan return ?#Formula1 #F12022 #Autosport pic.twitter.com/iKAnPaWMOm
— Autosport (@autosport) October 15, 2021
Hamilton fans don’t want to revisit what happened next, either. Race director Michael Masi allowed lapped cars to clear between Lewis and Max Verstappen on the re-start.
Verstappen was thrilled with the decision. He was on fresh tyres, while Hamilton knew he was a sitting duck on worn tyres. Before even overtaking Hamilton, the end result was inevitable.
Verstappen captured the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Formula One Drivers’ Championship in a season that came down to the final laps. Verstappen finished with 395.5 points to beat Hamilton’s 387.5 points.
The native of the Netherlands won 10 races and 18 podiums to 8 wins and 17 podiums for Hamilton. There is a massive asterisk on his championship last season, though. He will have to follow up and win without outside help to gain some respect back from some fans.
Ready for the new [email protected] ✖️ @viaplaysportnl ✖️ @VerstappenCOM ? pic.twitter.com/aIJJcpqoaN
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) March 6, 2022
Hamilton’s car was too good down the stretch last year. He was dominant, and his car was fast again in Abu Dhabi. Mercedes put in a lot of work into completing a comeback bid after falling point in the standings, but Masi wouldn’t allow them to finish.
I have support for both drivers. I’m not a Verstappen or Hamilton fan, but a fan of good racing. Hamilton received an unfair ending to his 2021 campaign from my unbiased view. The decision by Masi sent a ripple through F1 and sets up an exciting season in 2022. Find the best F1 betting sites at our online sportsbook guide for the new season.
Michael Masi Gets Canned
Under non-stop pressure from Mercedes, Michael Masi was fired from his post as race director of F1 in 2022. It wasn’t an immediate fallout from Abu Dhabi. F1 tried to stay quiet, wishing this would all blow over.
However, Mercedes didn’t stop probing Masi and the organization. While Hamilton stated that he never considered retiring, there were rumors that he was considering taking a step back.
Michael Masi has been under immense scrutiny over his handling of 2021’s title-deciding Abu Dhabi GP and the resurfaced audio from the dramatic final stages has today piled on more pressure! ? pic.twitter.com/FtP4pFUhBW
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 9, 2022
Hamilton seemed to tune everything out in the offseason to clear his mind. He didn’t have many media appearances and only posted on social media sparingly.
Hamilton is back for 2022 while Masi is out. Hamilton indicated that he never considered retiring, but his faith in the F1 policies is degraded.
Letting Masi go is one way to get a little faith back going into the 2022 campaign. This isn’t something that Hamilton or Mercedes will forget soon, though.
Masi was relieved of his duties on February 17. I wonder who was behind the pressure to oust Masi? It couldn’t have been Mercedes. I shouldn’t have to note the sarcasm.
PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!
2022 Formula 1 Season Betting Odds
Drivers’ World Championship Betting Odds:
Driver
Odds
Team
Lewis Hamilton
+135
Mercedes
Max Verstappen
+360
Red Bull
Valtteri Bottas
OFF
Alfa Romeo
George Russell
+550
Mercedes
Charles Leclerc
+600
Ferrari
Carlos Sainz
+1200
Ferrari
Lando Norris
+1200
McLaren
Daniel Riccardo
+4000
McLaren
World Constructors’ Championship Betting Odds:
Team Principal
Odds
Team
Toto Wolff
-165
Mercedes
Christian Horner
+300
Red Bull
Mattia Binotto
+350
Ferrari
Frederic Vasseur
OFF
Alfa Romeo
Andreas Siedl
+1600
McLaren
Otmar Szafnauer
+4000
Alpine
Mike Crack
+8000
Aston Martin
Franz Tost
+10000
AlphaTauri
Jost Capito
+30000
Williams
Guenther Steiner
+30000
Haas
2022 Drivers’ World Championship Predictions
Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton both had campaigns worth holding in high regard last year. Verstappen was clear and in control after a win in Mexico. He didn’t need much more to secure the World Championship.
However, then Hamilton took advantage of a series of fast tracks. Mercedes doesn’t care for races held at high altitudes, and the Mexican Grand Prix worked against Hamilton’s strengths.
The rest of the circuit was all Hamilton, with the Brit winning three straight and then losing the controversial finish in Abu Dhabi. It was a brutal conclusion to an otherwise strong push late for Hamilton’s team.
I’ve been gone. Now I’m back! pic.twitter.com/Y8i0cgJXZq
— Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) February 5, 2022
There is nothing bad to say about his car going into 2022. He was fast and took advantage of tracks with long straightaways towards the end of the 2021 campaign.
Hamilton had a sizable lead before the yellow came out in the season finale. It wasn’t a loss due to a bad car. Verstappen was on fresh tyres and had little trouble overtaking Hamilton at that point.
There has to be plenty of motivation for Hamilton and Mercedes to get back on top. Mercedes has been working on their W13 upgrade, which looks like a revolutionary machine.
pic.twitter.com/JMFVw50mtF
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) March 10, 2022
The Future Of Mercedes
Turning heads was the fact that there are little to no sidepods on the car. They have yet to debut their new technology, though it could change in Bahrain testing. George Russell and Hamilton will have an opportunity to take command of this new car.
With Valtteri Bottas off to Alfa Romeo, the 24-year-old will join Hamilton in 2022. Don’t sleep on Russell. He will have a fast car as well.
Verstappen is going to win plenty of races this year, especially when Hamilton can’t take advantage of tracks with top straight-line speed. However, Hamilton and Mercedes are in revenge mode this season.
Expect Hamilton to prevail in Abu Dhabi in November behind a lot of motivation. A year after a bruising defeat, Hamilton fights back to win the World Championship. At plus money, he has to be considered.
F1 2022 DRIVERS’ WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
2022 World Constructors’ Championship
Valtteri Bottas is with Alfa Romeo now after changing teams in the offseason. However, that should help Mercedes all that much.
Mercedes is happy to insert George Russell in Vottas’ old seat. Russell has a reasonable enough chance, according to the oddsmakers.
It’s hard to oppose Mercedes despite Bottas off the team. They have Russell at +550 to win the Drivers’ World Championship at 24. He’s going to have a rocket to pilot this season.
It should be business as usual and even more so after what happened last year. They pressure F1 to get rid of Masi, and now they’re coming at Red Bell.
Verstappen is going to rack up the points for Red Bull, and I believe we’ll see good work from Sergio Perez. Perez just looked at Verstappen’s contract and wants a new deal as well.
There should be motivation for Perez and his camp. However, the combo of Russell and Lewis should prove to be too much. Mercedes is out for nothing but the best in 2022.
F1 2022 WORLD CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTION
