F1 2023 season: Predictions, odds, betting tips and best bets for new Formula One campaign
Formula 1 finally returns on March 3rd for its first full weekend of the new 2023 season with the 24th edition of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Back-to-back world champion Max Verstappen will be the man to beat again after dominating the entire 2022 season and winning his second title by a staggering 146 points.
His Red Bull team will also be keen to pick up where they left off after winning the 2022 Constructors’ Championship, although Ferrari and Mercedes hope to eclipse their achievements this time around and buck their poor overall form to resist last season.
Before the action begins The sports news goes through all the odds to bring you the best bets and tips for the upcoming 2023 Formula 1 season.
MORE: 2023 season calendar, circuit list, all-time fastest lap times and more
F1 Drivers Championship 2023 Odds
Unsurprisingly, bookies have made Max Verstappen the favorite to win the 2023 Drivers’ Championship across the board.
The Dutchman starts this season after back-to-back title-winning campaigns, most recently winning the league by a margin of 146 points as he and Red Bull dominated the season.
Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton is the second title favorite despite struggling for much of last season, although he and Mercedes ended the year stronger.
His teammate George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc are also expected to take the top pair to the front this season at a price of 5/1 apiece with SkyBet, which could be of great value for Leclerc in particular, as he finished last season on P2.
Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez are rated +2500 as long shots at BetMGM, which could represent value, especially in the case of Perez. That’s because Red Bull could dominate again this season despite having less time in the wind tunnel last season as the Austrian team breached cost caps in 2022.
MORE: What is the F1 cost cap and how are violations penalized? The trial was declared after Red Bull fined $7 million for breaking the rules
Odds on BetMGM (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), SkyBet (UK) and Neds (Australia). All odds apply from February 14th.
| driver | BetMGM | Sports interaction |
SkyBet | neds |
| Max Verstappen | -138 | 1.67 | 5/6 | 1.73 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +333 | 4.22 | 3/1 | 4.00 |
| Charles Leclerc | +500 | 6.25 | 5/1 | 7:00 |
| George Russell | +800 | 8.21 | 5/1 | 7:00 |
| Carlo Sainz | +2500 | 29.00 | 25/1 | 26.00 |
| Sergio Perez | +2500 | 29.00 | 28/1 | 26.00 |
| Lando Norris | +10000 | 124.00 | 100/1 | 101 |
| Fernando Alonso | +10000 | 161.00 | 150/1 | 101 |
| Esteban Ocon | +25000 | 296.00 | 200/1 | 201 |
| Pierre Gasli | +50000 | 557.00 | 300/1 | 501 |
| Oskar Piastri | +100000 | 455.00 | 300/1 | 501 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +100000 | 1112.00 | 500/1 | 501 |
| lance walk | +100000 | 1001.00 | 750/1 | 501 |
| Kevin Magussen | +100000 | 770.00 | 1000/1 | 751 |
| Nico Hulkenburg | +100000 | – | 1000/1 | – |
| Nyck de Vries | +150000 | 2502.00 | 1000/1 | 1001 |
| Alex Albon | +200000 | 2502.00 | 2000/1 | 1001 |
| Zhou Guanyu | +200000 | 2502.00 | 2000/1 | 1001 |
| Logan Sargeant | +200000 | 2001.00 | 2000/1 | 1001 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +200000 | 2502.00 | 2000/1 | 1001 |
Odds for the F1 Constructors Championship 2023
Given their dominance last season, Red Bull are hot favorites for a second consecutive Constructors’ Championship title in 2023.
However, according to the bookmakers, they will face a tough opponent in the form of Mercedes, who is considered the second favorite to win the Team Cup, despite the fact that the German team struggled a lot last season.
Ferrari remain off the pace in terms of chances of winning this time’s first Constructors’ Championship since 2008. That’s likely due to their severe reliability issues in 2022, which greatly frustrated drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, as well as Tifosi fans worldwide.
| constructor | BetMGM | Sports interaction |
SkyBet | neds |
| red bull | +100 | 1.90 | 1/1 | 1.91 |
| Mercedes | +140 | 2.35 | 6/5 | 2.25 |
| Ferrari | +400 | 6.50 | 6/1 | 7:00 |
| McLaren | +12500 | 126.00 | 80/1 | 101 |
| alpine | +15000 | 126.00 | 100/1 | 126 |
| Alfa Romeo | +25000 | 351.00 | 200/1 | 301 |
| Aston-Martin | +40000 | 501.00 | 300/1 | 251 |
| AlphaTauri | +50000 | 501.00 | 500/1 | 501 |
| haas | +100000 | 901.00 | 500/1 | 1001 |
| Williams | +150000 | 2001.00 | 500/1 | 1501 |
Predictions for the 2023 Formula 1 season
Despite their lack of wind tunnel time in the 2023 season due to their cap rule breaches last season, it’s difficult to imagine anyone being able to beat Max Verstappen and Red Bull again during the new F1 campaign.
Admittedly, if Mercedes continues its upward trend from the second half of last season, the German team and Lewis Hamilton in particular – due to his vast experience – could come close to Red Bull and currently have by far the strongest package on the grid at the moment.
It will be interesting to see how Ferrari react as well. During the off-season they replaced former team boss Mattia Binotto with Alfa Romeo’s Frédéric Vasseur, who has done well in a team that has seemed to have quite a low ceiling in recent years.
The Italian team’s revamped back room could prove perfect for number one driver Charles Leclerc, who scored many points last season but is extremely frustrated with his car’s poor reliability and his team’s constant strategic mistakes on race day was.
Sergio Perez, George Russell and Carlos Sainz will also be aiming for the next step in their careers, securing P1 in the Drivers’ Championship at the end of the 2023 season.
Elsewhere, French team Alpine Look is poised to harass the top three constructors given their car’s lightning speed last season, while Aston Martin have added Fernando Alonso to their ranks, which should give the British team a boost on the circuit .
Expect Lando Norris to really fight for his first win in the sport this time around. He was “Mr Consistency” throughout 2022, although his performances have been largely let down by McLaren’s lack of pace on a consistent basis.
Formula 1 season 2023: best bet
- Choose: Max Verstappen wins the drivers’ championship, Red Bull wins the constructors’ championship
- Opportunities: 6/4 (SkyBet)
As mentioned, it’s still so difficult to see anything other than a Verstappen/Red Bull double in 2023.
The Dutchman broke all sorts of records last year, including setting the new benchmark for most races won in a single F1 season with 15, and is likely to carry that outstanding form into this season.
He will of course be pushed by others, most notably his rival Lewis Hamilton, who is said to be second favorite for the title, but Verstappen has proved time and time again that he can now handle the pressure. He’s also gained more experience over the past season and, as I’m sure he will admit himself, has learned to deal better with situations on the track.
Red Bull’s quest for another constructors’ title will also be joined by second driver Sergio Perez, who finished P3 last season despite being just three points behind Leclerc in P2. If it weren’t for reliability issues he could easily have finished second for the season, but despite this he is quick to get lost in most situations and is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid after Sebastian Vettel has left the sport.
Prop bet on the 2023 Formula 1 season
- Choose: 1+ driver not counted in every race
- Opportunities: 6/4 (SkyBet)
In all but one race last season at least one driver was not classified at the end of the event and even in that one Valtteri Bottas didn’t actually finish the race.
In the new F1 era, where cars can follow others much more closely, this opens up far more opportunities for intense battles that can easily end in retires, both from collisions and from the sheer pressure drivers put on their cars during races exercise
No. 1 flyer bet for the 2023 Formula 1 season
- Choose: Mercedes double podium in 8+ races
- Opportunities: 2/1 (SkyBet)
A common pre-season expectation for the upcoming 2023 season is that Mercedes will be much stronger from the start.
Mercedes really struggled in the opening races of last season but finished the race strongly towards the end, leading many to think that this time they should be back in contention for a Constructors’ Championship battle.
With that in mind, and although a tally of eight double podiums may seem high at first glance, Mercedes secured three last season, with all three coming in the second half of the 2022 proceedings.
Drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell also showed consistency as their individual cars improved after last year’s mid-season break so this selection is definitely valuable.
No. 2 flyer bet for the 2023 Formula 1 season
- Choose: Max Verstappen wins the championship, Charles Leclerc is second
- Opportunities: 14/1 (SkyBet)
Value here comes from Leclerc finishing second in 2023 and ahead of teammate Sainz, Mercedes duo Hamilton and Russell and Red Bull’s Perez.
Verstappen P1 and Leclerc P2 were not only the end result of a series of race weekends over the past season, but also the end of the 2022 Drivers’ Championship.
Admittedly, Mercedes’ improvements over the last season could see Leclerc pushing the standings down, but write off the Monegasque at their peril.
That’s because Ferrari made personnel changes that should improve their strategic decisions this time, and because Leclerc secured three race wins and 11 podiums last season thanks to fantastic driving and great pace.
No. 3 flyer bet for the 2023 Formula 1 season
- Choose: Verstappen to score in every race
- Opportunities: 18/1 (SkyBet)
In Formula 1 you need incredibly lucky to finish every race in a single season, although at 18/1 this bet offers really good value considering the Dutchman has scored points in 28 of his previous 30 races .
Last season his Red Bull saw DNF twice in the first three rounds of the season, but 19 straight finishes in the points-paying positions give this selection a real shot.
Combine that with the fact that teammate Sergio Perez failed to finish in just three races of the 2022 season and there’s a reasonable chance Verstappen could pick up points in every single race next season thanks to the Austrian team’s reliability .
Here’s how to watch the 2023 Formula 1 season
| country | TV channel | Live broadcast |
| USA | ESPN | ESPN+, fuboTV |
| United Kingdom | Sky Sports | SkyGo, NOW TV |
| Canada | TSN, RDS | TSN Direct |
| Australia | Fox Sports, Channel 10 | kayo |