This Sunday, it’s Round 18 of the F1 2022 driver’s championship, and with Max Verstappen not having things his own way last weekend (for once), we look ahead to this week’s Japanese Grand Prix and see if the world champion can put things right in our F1 betting picks.
Yes, the Singapore Grand Prix was a spectacle on the eyes, with the floodlit circuit looking amazing in the night sky. But on the track, things didn’t quite go to plan for Red Bull or, more precisely, Max Verstappen.
It was a rare weekend all around. It was a shock that Verstappen didn’t win, and it was also a shock to see an unusually scrappy performance from the current world champion and his team. Let’s take a closer look.
Well, I say it wasn’t a great weekend for Red Bull, but they still won the race, but it was with Sergio Perez. A win is a win, but I’m sure Christian Horner and company would have preferred another race win for Verstappen.
The weekend started to go wrong for Red Bull on Saturday when team orders saw the Dutchman aborting a lap that would have left him in pole position going into Sunday’s race.
A frustrated Verstappen ended up starting the race from eighth on the grid, and it just got worse from there. Verstappen still managed to finish seventh, despite a couple of errors from himself while attempting to climb up through the field.
This left the door open for others, and despite Ferrari expecting a better time at the tighter Marina Bay circuit, they still couldn’t prevent another Red Bull victory. This time Sergio Perez took the checkered flag. The Mexican driver did have to endure an investigation, but he was still named the winner even after a time penalty was added on.
The Ferrari team managed second and third place, with Leclerc finishing just over two and a half seconds behind Perez (after his five-second penalty) and Carlos Sainz ten seconds back in the third position.
The simple answer is yes, Max Verstappen can win the 2022 F1 driver’s championship at the Japanese Grand Prix. In order for this to happen, Verstappen needs to win eight points more than Charles Leclerc, and ten points more than teammate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen does have a 104 points lead over Charles Leclerc. There is no doubt he will win the title; it’s just a matter of when?
In the latest betting to win the title without Verstappen, the best F1 vegas betting sites make Charles Leclerc their -250 favorite. He is followed by Sergio Perez who is +225, with both Carlos Sainz and George Russell at +2500.
That represents a shift in the betting odds. Before the Singapore Grand Prix, the best Formula 1 betting sites had Leclerc at -334, and Perez at +600.
This is quite possibly the worst-timed Grand Prix on the circuit for those of us in the Eastern Time zone.
A start time of 1 am on Sunday from Suzuka isn’t ideal unless you’re just coming in from your Saturday night out. In this case, you might not remember the result by the morning.
This is the first race here since 2019; the last two years’ races were canceled due to the pandemic. Back in 2019, the race was won by Valtteri Botas, driving for Mercedes. Pole Position went to Sebastian Vettel, who was driving for Ferrari then.
You won’t be winning any prizes for guessing that the favorite to win the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix is Max Verstappen. The Dutch driver is -180 to win at Suzuka, having been -250 last weekend in Singapore.
This is a large change in the F1 Las Vegas betting odds on Verstappen and makes him more appealing to wager on.
Charles Leclerc is next at +300. While following his win last weekend, Sergio Perez is +1000, having been +1600 to win in Singapore.
Lewis Hamilton is +1200, Carlos Sainz next on +1600, and George Russell an appealing looking +2000. Following on from his impressive performance last week, Lando Norris is the best of the rest at +20000.
| 2022 Japan Grand Prix Winner Betting |  |  |
|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -180 | -175 |
| Charles Leclerc | +300 | +325 |
| Sergio Perez | +1000 | +1100 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +1200 | +1200 |
| Carlos Sainz | +1600 | +1200 |
| George Russell | +2000 | +1800 |
| Lando Norris | +20000 | +22500 |
| Fernando Alonso | +25000 | +30000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | +50000 | +250000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +100000 | +75000 |
BetOnline provides odds. You can find more betting offers and information about them at our BetOnline sportsbook review.
Well, it’s not often that Max Verstappen has two bad weeks in a row. He is remotely more backable this week at -180 as well. So I’m making Max Verstappen my pick this week.
I’m also going to have a small side bet on George Russell. I feel that Mercedes might just have a win in them at some point this season, so a small side wager on George Russell at +2000 is worth the risk.
