If you're newer to Formula 1 racing, your fandom may eventually lead to a popular question: How do I bet F1?
I'm a newer F1 fan myself, thanks largely to the popular "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" series on Netflix. The show sparked my interest in the international racing series, and my passion for betting on F1 quickly followed.
Betting on Formula 1 can be a little intimidating – even for seasoned sports bettors – due to the unique nature of motorsports and the F1 racing series specifically.
However, I'm here to make the whole thing a little easier to understand by explaining some of the common types of F1 bets you're likely to encounter at major legal sportsbooks.
How to Bet F1: Wager Types
Race Winner
To start off this list, the first and possibly most popular type of bet to make for an F1 race is to pick the winner of the race (also called the "outright" winner). The driver who takes the checkered flag at the end of the race cashes this bet. There can only be one; typically, the polesitter to start the race is listed at minus odds while the remaining 19 drivers have varying degrees of plus odds in this market. Most recently, over a 135-race sample size, the race winner comes from pole position (P1) 51% of the time, from P1 or P2 75% of the time, and from the starting top three 86% of the time.
Podium Finish
Another bet type for an F1 race is to bet a driver to finish on the podium, also known as a top-three finish. The sportsbooks typically price this market where four drivers are minus odds to finish on the podium and the remaining 16 are plus money, though it can vary from race to race. One key factor to look for and pay attention to is a strong driver combined with a fast car that underperforms in qualifying. There are teams that qualify in a one-lap scenario quite well that do not have the race pace (avoid in this market) and teams that qualify down the grid and have much faster race pace on the medium or hard tires that you should be targeting.
Top 6 Finish
The origins of a top-six finish being significant date back to 1960, when the scoring system awarded only the top six finishers with World Championship points. Although the number of points earned has changed, this system remained in F1 through the 2002 season. Much like the podium finish market, the books usually include seven drivers listed at minus odds, which can make this bet appear more difficult than it needs to be. One key factor to pay attention to is the top teams’ drivers will always be heavily favored in this market, so one angle of attack is to target a middle-team driver who has a favorable setup specific to the track.
Points Finish
Since 2010, the top 10 finishers in a race have earned World Championship points. The points finish market in F1 betting places odds on a driver earning at least a point at the end of the race (10th place or better). There is value to be found betting a points finish; historically over the 135-race sample size mentioned previously, drivers who start in the top 10 finish in the top 10 only 75.7% of the time. This means that drivers who fail to qualify for Q3 are finishing in the points a quarter of the time.
Winner without x
Back in 2023, Max Verstappen of Red Bull won 19 of 22 races. While he wasn’t on pole for every race win, the odds were heavily stacked in his favor each round. The “winner without x” bet would’ve been great to use in a situation like that where the actual winner of the race is effectively already determined, but you still want to bet on a top driver to beat the rest of the grid. During dominant runs by a specific driver, this is a good way to remove one variable from the equation in your analysis of the race.
Head-to-head
Head-to-head bets (also called "matchups") will always be a staple of F1 betting. While most books only include head-to-head bets between teammates, there are now several options that include Driver A vs. Driver B of separate teams. The in-team H2H bets can be fun to bet with the more accomplished driver who qualifies behind his teammate, or to pick the underdog to outperform expectations in virtually the same car. The cross-team H2H matchups usually include drivers close in the standings or close on the starting grid. Do not shy away from laying -180 or -200 odds in this market if you still see value; they are overpriced that way for a reason.
Fastest Lap
Fastest lap times have been tracked since the beginning of circuit racing, but they have counted for an additional World Championship point only since the 2019 season. This betting market is a bit of a dart throw as all 20 drivers pre-race are listed at plus money odds. Outside of a dry track race start that turns into a wet track during the race, the fastest lap will be set toward the end or on the final lap of the race. The cars are at their lightest fuel load at the end of the race, causing lap times to continuously get quicker throughout a race. A driver at the end can put on a set of soft tires to give it a one-lap shot at fastest lap.
Opening Lap Props
We have two main betting markets to target for the opening lap: leader after the 1st lap and driver end of first lap position over/under. The pole sitter will typically have minus odds to be the leader after the first lap with plus money odds on the rest of the grid. One key target is to look at the driver in P2 and bet the driver who will also be driving into clean air and can jump the pole sitter running down to the opening turn. The books will also have odds on o/u driver position at the completion of the first lap (such as George Russell, 4.5). One betting possibility here is when a perceived slower car excels in qualifying, and then you target an under bet on the first lap position.
Race Props
A proposition bet, known as a “prop bet” in the industry, is a wager on something that does not directly include the event’s final outcome. The prop bet market gets a lot of national attention during large events such as the Super Bowl or World Cup final, where bettors can wager on all types of random things. There are numerous prop bets that can be placed in F1, even though only a handful are listed here:
- Over/under for number of cars classified (90%+ of the race completed)
- Will there be a safety car during the race (yes or no)?
- Winning margin of the race (in seconds)
- Specific driver to be classified/not classified at the end of the race
- "Winner & fastest lap" parlay
- Nationality of winner
Team Props
The final F1 bet type included in this list is a team prop bet, which takes into account both drivers on the same team. The two main ones that are team specific, where just one of the drivers can cash this bet, are race-winning car and fastest pit stop. For race-winning car, this is a great bet when you want to cover your basis on both drivers and aren’t concerned which of the pair wins the race. The other markets for team props include double podium finish, double top six finish, and double top 10 finish. As it s sort of self-explanatory, both drivers must reach the finishing position to cash the bet.
