The 2024 Australian Grand Prix is Round 3 of the Formula 1 World Championship. Max Verstappen has cantered to wins in the opening two rounds and is -500 to make it three wins from three when the race takes place at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. In our latest Formula 1 betting picks, we tell you if anybody can stop the leader of the Drivers’ Championship from further extending his lead ahead of the chasing pack.
Officially, this is a Sunday race. But given the time difference between Australia and the US, the race starts at 11 pm ET on Saturday night. Which is great if you like late-night sports action.
Max Verstappen has two wins from two races this season. In his most recent outing, he coasted to a 13-second win over teammate Sergio Perez at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Round of the season.
His win in Saudi has seen Verstappen open up a 15-point lead over Perez after just two races of the season. And in the betting to win the 2024 Drivers’ Championship, Verstappen is already -800.
The Las Vegas Formula 1 betting sites had Max Verstappen at -325 to win in Bahrain. He was then -375 to win in Saudi Arabia. And now Verstappen is -500 to win in Australia. Following Verstappen, is his teammate Sergio Perez at +800 and Charles Leclerc at +1400. It seems bizarre to say they are the three favorites when the best sites have the third driver in the betting at +1400.
Further back in the betting is Lando Norris at +2500, and the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are at +2800. Mercedes hasn’t got going at all yet in 2024.
More 2024 Australian Grand Prix betting is on our Las Vegas odds table. We have taken the odds from the best sportsbooks for Formula 1 betting.
| Drivers |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -500 | -500 | -500 |
| Sergio Perez | +800 | +800 | +800 |
| Charles Leclerc | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Lando Norris | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| George Russell | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
| Fernando Alonso | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
| Oscar Piastri | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Oliver Bearman | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Lance Stroll | +25000 | +25000 | +25000 |
| Alex Albon | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Logan Sargeant | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +50000 | +50000 | +50000 |
It’s been well-known for some time now that Verstappen generally just has to complete the race to win. But Sergio Perez won two of the opening four races of the 2023 season, sparking hopes that there might be at least two drivers in the battle to win the championship.
And so we started 2024 with some optimism that Perez might be able to push Verstappen. But that hope died in Saudi Arabia, where Verstappen dominated on one of the street circuits favored by Perez, so we can now forget about the main market to win the Drivers’ Championship and focus on betting without Verstappen.
Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez leads the way. Perez has finished second to the Red Bull No.1 driver in the opening two races. He is second in the Drivers’ Championship on 36 points (Verstappen has 51), eight ahead of third-placed Charles Leclerc (28) and 18 clear of George Russell (18), who sits fourth.
In the betting, this sees Perez as the market leader at -163. Charles Leclerc is second at +400, with Fernando Alonso at +1000 and Lando Norris at +1400. Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton are next at +1600. The name of Ricciardo appearing in this market is interesting. The Aussie drives for RB, who is Red Bull’s backup team. Is the RB team soon going to have one of the more competitive cars on the grid?
Anybody can predict Max Verstappen to win the race. He is -500, and although we say he will win, we understand not everyone will want to back him at those odds, so we have found some alternative bets.
Last year in Australia, the podium saw Max Verstappen joined by Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. The Aston Martin team had a good weekend. As well as having the veteran Spaniard in the top three, the team also scored a fourth-place finish with Lance Stroll.
Two red flags played a part in the race, but it was still a great weekend for the Aston Martin team and also for Mercedes, who had the second driver on the podium and supplied the engines for the two Aston Martins.
With this in mind, is it time we got a better performance out of Lewis Hamilton? So far this season, he has finished seventh in Bahrain and ninth in Saudi Arabia. The short answer is yes, he is due a podium.
In the betting to finish in the top three, Lewis Hamilton is +225. He has won here twice before and knows the circuit well. We are making Hamilton to finish in the top three our first pick.
Our second pick is more of a hunch bet than the first. Oscar Piastri finished a credible fourth at the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, over 13 seconds ahead of his teammate Lando Norris.
To go one better and stand on the podium, the Aussie is +800. This is his home Grand Prix, and he is in good form. A small wager on Oscar Piastri to finish in the top three in Australia is our second betting pick.
See below for the best online betting sites in USA 2024, where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
