How do F1 bets work?

How do F1 bet works

Formula 1 is one of the most followed sports in the world. In Mexico alone, the Grand Prix attracts roughly 400,000 fans. The fascination with the extreme speeds, the cutting edge technology and the legendary circuits act as catalysts to draw fans in and keep them from missing a single race. Over time, the World Championship has become an important betting market as bookmakers continuously add new ideas to make the weekend even more exciting for fans of the sport.

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Formula 1: What types of bets are there?

There are many different types of Formula 1 bets and some bookmakers have as many as 20 markets for each race, of which can also be bet on live. Inevitably, as with many other major sporting events, the odds are established beforehand.

Pre-event Formula 1 bets

Checo Perez - Formula 1

What are pre-event bets in Formula 1? The answer is rather simple, any punter can bet at the beginning of the season, or throughout the course of the season, on what the final results of the various qualifying rounds will be.

World Drivers’ Championship winner

The first market to consider in pre-event Formula 1 betting is the winner of the World Drivers’ Championship. All bookmakers that operate in this discipline offer bettors the chance to select, well before the start of the season, who will take home the coveted title.

All the drivers of the teams entered into the World Championship are included into this type of bet with odds that naturally will vary depending on the track record of the protagonists. Factors that come into play are: whether or not they are the reigning champions, if the driver has previously won a World Championship before in their career and, of course, the type of car they drive. Often, the reigning champion, especially if they dominated in the season prior or stayed at the wheel of a competitive team, will have the lowest odds. Rookies, on the other hand, who may be competing in less competitive cars will see their odds shoot up dramatically, sometimes even up to 500/1.

World Constructors’ Championship winner

Another type of interesting pre-event market is who will win the World Constructors’ Championship. That is to say, which car manufacturer will win the most points at the end of all the races on the circuit. Again, it is easy to deduce that the cars that finished top in previous seasons have the edge over those that struggled.

Fans of this type of bet should not overlook the driver pairings of each team or the characteristics of the car. As with any other sport, it pays to be fully aware of all the details and the different circuits as well before placing a bet.

Other long-term betting markets

There are also other types of pre-event Formula 1 bets that vary from bookmaker to bookmaker. Some books, for example, will offer users an over/under on race wins where you can bet on the number of events won by an individual driver. You may also find head-to-head betting markets which pits two drivers against one another with the winner determined by which driver obtains the better finish in the championship at the end of the season. This same betting market is also available for the manufacturers, where you are able to bet on which company will have the better results. Some books also offer odds on the best rookie at the end of the season.

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Outright F1 betting

F1 betting - Redbull

The second type of bets to keep in mind are the ones that focus on the individual races. These odds can differ from those that you would find in the previously mentioned pre-event betting. Below we will take a deeper dive into what kind of markets you can expect to find.

Betting on the winner of the Formula 1 Grand Prix

One of the active F1 betting markets is the single Grand Prix winner, a bet that involves a number of other factors that should be considered. The first is the condition of the driver that we are looking to bet on. Is he coming into the race in good form or is he passing through a difficult period? How are his previous finishes on this circuit? Every driver has their personal favorite tracks and it could be helpful to identify which those are.

Finally, we mustn't forget the weather. Rain can have a huge effect on the outcome of the race and the instability over the course of a two-hour event can work either as a disadvantage, or an advantage, to those drivers with the ability to adapt.

F1 GP teams 1X2 betting

Before the individual races begin, it is also possible to bet on the 1X2 market for teams. This simply means which team will score the most points in a matchup between car manufacturers. The ‘X’ in the equation comes into play if the teams end up tied in points. Again, for this type of bet there are many factors to consider: the track is crucial because each car has specific characteristics and can be faster on some circuits than on others.

The aptitude of the drivers is also an important factor as the sum of the scores of the drivers is used as a scoring metric. Lastly, the weather should be scouted before making a bet as, although the tires have been the same for a number of years now, many manufacturers utilize them differently as they search for innovative strategies to improve their lap time.

Fastest lap betting

Nearly all bookmakers also offer the possibility to bet on who will record the fastest lap time during the race. This is certainly not an easy market to predict because, in addition to the previous factors that we discussed in the article, there are some drivers that specialize in achieving the fastest lap time. Not to mention that even the car manufacturers that are not considered to be the very top quality can even produce some very interesting performances when they have a limited fuel load.

Other available F1 betting markets

Below you will find a list of some of the different markets that you can bet on in regards to Formula 1:

Formula 1 GP winner
F1 GP teams 1X2
Fastest lap
Head-to-head drivers
Head-to-head teams
Official qualifying winner
Head-to-head qualifying
Qualify Yes/No
Team with points
Podium composition
Formula 1 Grand Prix starting grid
Fastest pit car
Safety car Yes/No
Over/Under pit lap
Over/Under drivers finishing the race
Race winning margin in seconds
Triple Yes/No

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Formula 1 live betting

For each Formula 1 Grand Prix it is possible to in-play bet on almost all of the markets listed above with odds that are continuously updated – in some cases on a lap by lap basis depending on the events unfolding. Live betting on Formula 1 is a fun way to experience the action while also potentially providing an advantage to the bettor as they are able to see everything playing out in real time.

For more information, read our F1 betting tips written by our Formula 1 experts!

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