Introducing: Formula One Best Bets
- Jordan T
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 13
The 2025 Formula 1 season begins this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. It is shaping up to be one of the most exciting seasons yet, with several new rookies, drivers changing teams, and a new driver as the favorite to be champion. As a fun experiment, this season I will be doing a “Best Bets” series where I will make a fake wager of 100 dollars on three different bets for each race as well as three season-long bets. This will amount to 75 total bets of 7,500 fake dollars: 3 season-long bets, and 3 bets for each of the 24 races. The goal of this series is not to make actual money, as I mentioned I will not really be gambling, but rather to just have fun and see if I could theoretically beat the oddsmakers over the course of an entire season.
Now that we have the groundwork laid, let's get to the fun stuff. In this edition, you will be getting both my season-long Best Bets as well as my Best Bets for the Australian Grand Prix.
2025 Formula 1 Season Best Bets
Best Bet #1: Drivers Championship – Lando Norris
Odds: +150
Max Verstappen will be looking to hold off his rivals in the World Drivers' championship in what seems to be the third-best car at best. While it is hard to count out Verstappen, who has won four titles in a row, it seems that McLaren will have the jump on the other top three constructors at the start of the season. As a result, Lando Norris is my (and the oddsmaker's) favorite to top the leaderboards this season, and I think the logic is simple here. He is the more experienced driver in his team and he has the fastest car.
Best Bet #2 : Driver to Win 7+ Races – Lando Norris
Odds: +120
Lando Norris won four races last year including his maiden win in Miami. I look for him to take another leap forward this season and if the McLaren can stay rapid all year, he has a good chance of reaching seven race wins.
Best Bet #3 : Lewis Hamilton to outscore Charles Leclerc
Odds: +200
Lewis Hamilton is brand new to the Ferrari team and he has a tremendously talented teammate across the garage in Charles Leclerc. All signs would point to Leclerc edging out Hamilton in the inter-team battle, but I believe a reinvigorated Hamilton will keep things close and could potentially pull off an upset here with some decent odds for a seven-time champion.
Australian Grand Prix Best Bets
Best Bet #1: Podium Finish – Oscar Piastri
Odds: +130
For all the same reasons I have listed in this article about McLaren, I believe Oscar Piastri will finish on the Podium this weekend. Not to mention the fact that this is his home race and he will be looking to have a big performance.
Best Bet #2 : Points Finish – Carlos Sainz
Odds: -175
Carlos Sainz won this race last year for Ferrari just weeks after suffering from appendicitis and undergoing surgery. Couple that with the fact that he set the fastest time in pre-season testing in the Williams and all signs point towards the team taking steps forward this year and getting off on the right foot. While I don’t think Sainz will be standing on the podium this season under any normal circumstances, I do think he will get the most out of his car more times than not, including a points finish in Australia.
Best Bet #3: Fastest in Qualifying – Lando Norris
Odds: +195
Lando Norris was absolutely rapid in qualifying in 2024. He tied Verstappen for the most pole positions with eight on the season and had a 20-4 record against his very talented teammate. He will be looking to get off to a good start this season and it seems, whether warranted or not, that the pressure is on him more than any other driver to deliver. We will see if he has what it takes this season to be world champion.
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