It’s the final race of the 2022 Formula 1 season, and with Mercedes finally winning a race in Brazil last week, we look at their chances of finishing the season with back-to-back wins in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in our free Formula 1 betting picks.
Yes, finally, Mercedes got a much-needed win on the board with a win from George Russell in Brazil. It’s not relevant in championship terms, but it was a huge relief for Toto Wolff and his team, as to have gone through the whole of 2022 without a win would have been extremely embarrassing, at the very least.
It also asks the question ahead of the 2023 season, are Mercedes back? At this stage, it’s hard to know. We’re still unsure if this result was down to Mercedes improvements or Red Bull easing off with the driver and constructors’ championships already in the bag.
The chances are it’s a bit of both. But it’s not as if Red Bull had nothing to drive for last weekend in Brazil. Sergio Perez is locked in a tussle with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to finish second in the driver’s championship. So although not essential, Red Bull would still love the 1-2 finish.
The fact that Max Verstappen refused to move aside for his teammate to increase his chances of finishing second won’t have gone unnoticed by Mercedes, or the rest of the F1 world. So does this potential unease in the Red Bull camp give everybody else increased belief that they can topple the champion team in 2023?
Back to this season, and in the betting to win the driver’s championship without Verstappen, BetUS makes Leclerc their -140 favorite. Sergio Perez is next at +100, and after his maiden Grand Prix win in Brazil last week, George Russell is +15000. You can read more about BetUS and their latest offer in our BetUS sportsbook review.
Well, we all know what happened here last year, and it’s fair to say we’re still feeling the fallout from the remarkable ending 11 months ago that saw Max Verstappen come back from the dead to win his first-ever driver’s World Championship.
But with nothing other than the season podium positions behind Verstappen to be decided, there is no way we will see that sort of drama this year.
It is still a spectacular race, though. And as the Grand Prix is a day-night race, the backdrop is amazing with the setting sun, which also means drivers will have to get used to the changing conditions as they are racing. The only downside to this is that a local start time of 5 pm, unfortunately, means an early-ish 8 am start in the eastern time zone.
Of course, it’s Max Verstappen who is the favorite to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with the best Formula 1 betting sites. But as you will see in the betting, it’s at significantly different odds following Mercedes’ win in Brazil last weekend.
Verstappen is +125 to win on Sunday. This is the first time he’s been odds against for weeks and represents a massive swing to his odds of -210 to win in Brazil. Closely behind Verstappen is Lewis Hamilton at +250 and George Russell at +350. Last weekend, Hamilton was +650, and Russell was +1200.
| 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Winner Betting |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | +125 | +125 | +105 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +250 | +250 | +250 |
| George Russell | +350 | +375 | +350 |
| Charles Leclerc | +1000 | +900 | +1000 |
| Sergio Perez | +1100 | +1100 | +1100 |
| Carlos Sainz | +1400 | +1500 | +1400 |
| Fernando Alonso | +25000 | +22000 | +25000 |
| Lando Norris | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +50000 | +40000 | +50000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
If you think a Ferrari will win, Charles Leclerc is +1000, and Carlos Sainz is +1400. In the unlikely event that Max Verstappen moves over to help his teammate win the race on Sunday, you can get the best Vegas odds of +1100 on a Sergio Perez victory.
At odds against, do we go with Max? He said he would help Perez this weekend if required, but history suggests he probably won’t. Either way, there’s probably too much risk involved with backing him, even at odds.
Elsewhere, and after showing signs of recovery last week, can Mercedes finish the season with back-to-back wins? Lewis Hamilton has never failed to win a race in an F1 season, and Sunday represents his last chance to keep that run going.
Do we have to go for Lewis Hamilton, surely? Well, I’m going to. My first betting picks to win the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is Lewis Hamilton.
For my second bet of the weekend, I’m looking at the betting to finish on the podium. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez are both on 290 points, joint second in the driver’s championship.
Sergio Perez is +120 to finish in the top 3 of this race, and Charles Leclerc is +150. I have to say I like the look of the Ferrari man here. There’s uncertainty over how Max Verstappen will behave, and I feel that Leclerc will finish higher than Perez, so I’m making Charles Leclerc finish in the top 3 my second betting pick of the race.
