F1 Odds and Picks: Who Will Challenge Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at Bahrain Grand Prix?

F1 Odds and Picks: Who Will Challenge Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton at Bahrain Grand Prix?

Following a long offseason and a couple of weeks of testing including last weekend in Bahrain, the 2022 Formula One (F1) season is ready to get underway on Saturday at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Being introduced this season, new regulations around car specifications could shake up the favorites at the top early on, as teams and drivers make adjustments each and every week as they enter unchartered territory. 

Amongst the new changes are an 18-inch low profile tire, over-wheel winglets, a front nose re-design, and rear wing rolled tips; all designed to make races more competitive and promote better races each and every week. 

With testing now complete, let’s take a look at results thus far and how things could shake out in Week 1 of the 2022 Formula One season.

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix: Date, Time, and How to Watch

When: March 20, 10:55 AM EDT

How to Watch: ESPN

Where: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain

F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Complete Odds

Top 5 Outright Betting Odds

• Max Verstappen +200 (Bet $100 to Win $200)
• Lewis Hamilton +240 (Bet $100 to Win $240)
• Charles Leclerc +500 (Bet $100 to Win $500)
• George Russell +850 (Bet $100 to Win $850)
• Carlos Sainz +850 (Bet $100 to Win $850)

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F1 Bahrain Grand Prix Best Bet

Charles Leclerc (+500) (Bet $100 to Win $500)

By all accounts one of the best preseason testing few weeks Ferrari has had in decades, boss Mattia Binotto has a pair of young aces this season in Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc. As we often see in these two-man teams, there is a setup man and a finisher, and Leclerc is that finisher. 

With just 53 laps in last weekend’s testing here in Bahrain, Leclerc posted the third fastest lap of any driver at 1:32.415, trailing current favorite Max Verstappen by just .7 seconds. He also did so with the disadvantage of being on harder tires (C4 vs. C5), a moot point come this Saturday’s race with changing conditions and constant tire changes. 

Based on lap times from throughout the testing period, which included testing in qualifying runs as well as race simulations, the Ferrari team across the board had an advantage over the top-level Mercedes team (Lewis & Russell) and was just a hair behind Red Bull (Verstappen & Perez). Manning Ferarri’s debut F1-75 car this season, Leclerc is in search of his first F1 since 2019 but has the tools in Ferarri's arsenal to do just that in what has been discussed as the most dynamic car in the field. 

Speaking of the F1-75 Ferrari is said to have taken some risks with the design, upgrading the power unit with reliability issues being a big question mark. So far in testing, preseason, however, the Italian automaker has had little cause for concern and downplaying any such reports of issues. Oftentimes, teams will hide performances during public testing sessions, so while Ferrari might have an edge over Mercedes as now, the true test will be the first handful of laps on Saturday in Bahrain. 

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Even more so than Ferarri, Mercedes has a completely new car which could be the reason their testing has been so lackluster to this point. What actually gets rolled out on Saturday is anyone’s guess, but all indications so far point toward Ferarri having the slight edge.

While all eyes are tuned in on Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull/Mercedes camps meeting for the first time since their infamous end to 2021, don’t be surprised if the Ferrari team slides in with a massive statement to start the 2022 season.