Round 17 of the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Baku. Lando Norris is the favorite with the best betting sites. But despite having the best car on the circuit, Norris has only won two races this season and trails Max Verstappen by 62 points in the Drivers’ Championship. In our latest Formula 1 betting picks, we tell you if Norris can win on the streets of Baku and close the gap on Verstappen.
Yes, despite having had the fastest F1 car in the paddock for some weeks now, Lando Norris has still only managed two races win this season.
To put that into perspective, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton have both won twice this year driving cars nowhere nearly as quick.
In the last race at Monza, Lando Norris again started from the Pole position and again managed to lose the lead at the first corner.
And this time his mistake was a very costly one, as Norris didn’t just lose one place, but two.
In the melee, Charles Leclerc took the lead, and Oscar Piastri took second place. On this occasion, Norris couldn’t claw the places back and Leclerc went on to win the race.
More significant for Norris is the fact that he couldn’t fully cash in on the poor form of Max Verstappen and Red Bull.
The triple-world champion could only manage 6th place. A race win for Norris would have bagged him 25 points. Instead, he had to settle for 15, and as a result, Norris only closed the gap to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship by seven points instead of 17.
These mistakes are going to end up costing Norris at the end of the season. If the British driver doesn’t cut them out soon, he will hand the title to the Dutchman.
Lando Norris is the betting favorite to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The British driver is +120 to win the race on the money line. In the previous race in Italy, Norris started the race week as the +100 betting favorite.
Second in the betting to win in Baku is Charles Leclerc at +500. The upgrades to the Ferrari car ahead of Monza seem to have had the desired impact. As a result, the bookmakers feel Leclerc is worthy of being the second favorite at Baku ahead of Verstappen.
Oscar Piastri is next in the betting at +550. The Australian has been a model of consistency in recent weeks, finishing in the top four in his last six races, with four podium finishes included in that run.
By now you must be thinking where on earth is Max Verstappen?
Well, he is the fourth favorite with the bookmakers. If anyone had predicted that would happen a few weeks ago, most would have thought it was an insane prediction.
But that is where we are now. Max Verstappen is +650 to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz is next at +1000, with Lewis Hamilton at +1400, and George Russell at +1600.
The performances of the Mercedes duo have dropped in recent weeks after the team won three races from four during the European leg of the season.
Full 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix betting is on our Las Vegas odds table. The odds we have used are taken from the best Formula 1 Las Vegas betting sites.
| Driver |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lando Norris | +120 | +120 | +120 |
| Charles Leclerc | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Oscar Piastri | +550 | +550 | +550 |
| Max Verstappen | +650 | +650 | +650 |
| Carlos Sainz | +1000 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| George Russell | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Sergio Perez | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Alex Albon | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Fernando Alonso | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Lance Stroll | +30000 | +30000 | +30000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Franco Colapinto | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
Max Verstappen now hasn’t won a race since Round 10 in Spain.
His lead at the top of the Drivers’ Championship is down to just 62 points. And worse still, he doesn’t look like winning a race.
But Lando Norris is running out of races to catch the triple-world champion. He has the advantage, but he is not currently pressing it home.
Verstappen is still the betting favorite to win the 2024 Drivers’ Championship at -190. Lando Norris is +135.
Ahead of the Italian Grand Prix (the last race), Verstappen was -350 and Norris was +250. So the gap in the betting is closing.
Baku is a street circuit. So with the drivers needing to be ultra-precise, could this be a route back in for Max Verstappen?
Regardless of the speed of the respective cars, it is still widely accepted that the Dutchman is the best driver. But are Verstappen’s exceptional driving skills going to be enough to close the gap in the performance of the respective cars?
Probably not is the answer. McLaren seems on top of their game. No matter what the circuit, the team seems able to extract the best out of the car.
But the problem is that Lando Norris is struggling to turn this domination into race wins.
Therefore, for our betting pick, we have two choices. We either back Oscar Piastri to win at +550, or any McLaren to win at -165.
Either option makes sense. But in case Norris gets it right this week, we are going for either McLaren to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
See below for the best online betting sites in USA 2024, where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
