F1 Betting: Who Can Stop Verstappen Next Year?
It was sheer bedlam last year in Abu Dhabi. The 2021 Formula One season was down to its final race, and both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles were still up for grabs until the very end, when Max Verstappen pulled ahead on the last lap and took the chequered flag for Red Bull Racing.
The atmosphere will be a bit different this Sunday when the 2022 F1 season wraps up at Yas Marina Circuit. Verstappen and Red Bull have already locked up this year’s titles weeks in advance. They’re still favoured to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but fans are turning their attention to 2023, with the odds for next year’s Drivers’ Championship already on the board at Bodog Sportsbook. The question on the lips of all F1 betting fans – “who can stop Verstappen next year?”
Can Verstappen be Stopped Next Year?
Possibly. Formula One racing is more about the cars than the drivers, and it’s a constant struggle for the teams to improve their machines and stay competitive from race to race. It seems like yesterday we were asking if anyone could stop Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes team. Now it’s Verstappen and Red Bull who are threatening to build a dynasty of their own.
Here are the top six favourites at Bodog to take home the 2023 Drivers’ Championship, with their odds as they appeared on our Motor Sports page at press time:
Max Verstappen –140
Lewis Hamilton +350
Charles Leclerc +450
George Russell +1000
Carlos Sainz +2000
Sergio Perez +2500
Next year’s F1 odds reflect how the leading teams on the circuit stack up heading into Abu Dhabi. Verstappen and Red Bull have already cemented their reputation as the best team on the planet. Meanwhile, Mercedes appear to have solved some of the “porpoising” issues that plagued their 2022 campaign, based on their 1-2 finish at last week’s Brazil Grand Prix.
That result (with Russell finishing first and Hamilton second) gives Mercedes every chance to overtake Ferrari for second on the Constructors’ table, but more importantly, it bodes well for their return to glory in 2023. Leclerc will no doubt be fuming this offseason after Ferrari left dozens of points on the track through strategic errors and seemingly random mechanical issues.
If Red Bull can hold off both of their top challengers next year, then it’s up to Perez to end Verstappen’s reign atop the Drivers’ standings – but that seems very unlikely given what happened in Brazil. With Verstappen trailing late and unable to catch his nearest rivals, Red Bull apparently had orders to let Perez pass and try to scoop up some extra points, hoping to overtake Leclerc for second in the standings. Verstappen refused.
That’s F1 racing in a nutshell. The “No. 1” drivers usually get preferential treatment, making it virtually impossible for their teammates to fully prove their worth – and as we saw with Verstappen last week, those lead drivers aren’t keen to drop their alpha status on those rare occasions when the team orders them to.
In short, it looks like Hamilton has a very good chance of taking down Verstappen next year, with Leclerc still in the mix, but as we saw this past offseason, even a proven team like Mercedes can have their season ruined if they don’t keep all of their mechanical ducks in a row.
Abu Dhabi F1 Betting
Again, with Mercedes seemingly back in form, the Motor Sports odds for this year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix are pretty close to what you’ll find on Bodog’s futures market for 2023 – with two notable changes:
Max Verstappen +125
Lewis Hamilton +250
George Russell +350
Charles Leclerc +1000
Sergio Perez +1200
Carlos Sainz +1600
Team orders notwithstanding, it’s a lot easier for a “No. 2” driver to win a single Grand Prix as opposed to an entire season. We saw that play out last week when Russell finished ahead of Hamilton; Mercedes can’t afford to let either driver drop any points if they want to overtake Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ standings.
Perez is also ahead of Sainz for fifth on Bodog’s F1 odds list, which illustrates how frustrating life has gotten for Ferrari – although this is more about Perez and his own personal quest for second in the Drivers’ standings. He and Leclerc are tied with 290 points, but Leclerc owns the tiebreaker with three wins to two for Perez.
Leclerc is still expected to finish ahead of Perez at Abu Dhabi; you can bet on the Frenchman at –140 to finish second to Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings, with Perez at even money and Russell technically in the hunt at +20000. Maybe we’ll see some mayhem in this year’s F1 finale after all.
Remembering Abu Dhabi 2021
It’ll be virtually impossible to top last year’s insanity. Verstappen and Hamilton were tied at 369.5 points with one race remaining, and Hamilton appeared well on his way to capturing his eighth Drivers’ title after taking the lead on Lap 1.
Then everything went sideways. A safety car was required on Lap 53 of 58 after Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi crashed out, then a restart was ordered on Lap 56, allowing five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen to unlap themselves – but only those five cars.
Verstappen had wisely gone into pit lane to put on fresh super-soft tires when the safety car came out. Now with Hamilton clearly in his sights, Verstappen was able to pass and win both the race and the Drivers’ title. Mercedes did enough to keep the Constructors’ Championship, but it was thin gruel after that very controversial restart.
F1 Betting with Crypto
Fortunately, there are no race stewards or any other third parties to get in the way when you use cryptocurrency to bet on Formula One at Bodog Sportsbook. Because crypto is open-source and decentralized, your deposits and withdrawals will go through without interference, and without large transaction fees attached. Check out our Bitcoin video tutorial series to find out how to use all of the different digital coins on our crypto menu, and we’ll see you at the track. While we’re not sure who can stop Verstappen next year, we’re sure on how to bet on F1 with crypto.