Max Verstappen may not have had pole last week, but he secured his seventh straight win all the same and hits the board as a -360 betting favorite to make it eight in a row at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.
Following the sprint race, Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is now in the No. 2 spot, followed by Lewis Hamilton.
Find out more in our 2023 Belgian Grand Prix betting preview below.
Belgian Grand Prix 2023 odds
| Driver | Team |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | -400 | -380 |
-400 |
| Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +700 | +650 |
+600 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1,300 | +1,800 |
+1,600 |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +2,000 | +2,200 |
+2,000 |
| Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +2,800 | +2,200 |
+2,000 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | +3,500 | +3,000 | +2,800 |
| Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +4,500 | +4,200 | +4,000 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | +7,000 | +7,000 |
+6,600 |
| Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +15,000 | +11,000 |
+10,000 |
| Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +15,000 | +11,000 |
+10,000 |
Odds as of July 29, 2023.
Belgian Grand Prix 2023 post-qualifying picks
Formula One action continues this weekend after Max Verstappen secured his seventh straight race win, a streak that is now tied for the second-longest in the history of the series.
Verstappen can come within one race of the all-time record of nine with a win on Sunday at the Belgian Grand Prix, but faces a five-place grid penalty after Red Bull fitted his car with a fifth gearbox (regulations allow just four), netting him a sixth position start for Sunday despite his qualification win on Friday morning.
Can Verstappen overcome the grid penalty and keep his streak alive in pursuit of history, or will the penalty prove to be too much for the all-but-guaranteed 2023 Drivers Championship winner and bring some parity to the grid?
Continue reading for free Formula One picks and predictions for the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, July 30.
Race prediction: Max Verstappen to win (-300 at bet365)
Despite his five-place grid penalty, Verstappen still is the clear favorite heading into Sunday's race and for good reason. Mad Max is not only the winner of seven straight races (a mark tied for the second-longest streak in F1 history), but he is also the winner of the last two Belgian Grands Prix.
In fact, Verstappen had secured pole position in both instances, and he improved upon his 1.995s win in 2021 to a dominant 17.841s win last year. And on Friday morning, Verstappen won the qualifying round by 0.820s despite forgoing the lone Free Practice round on Friday.
That gap may not seem large at first, but the margin between Verstappen and Charles Leclerc (who took second) was as large as the one between Leclerc and the eight-fastest time.
And of course there is the pursuit of history at play. Verstappen has a chance across Sunday and the following race to tie the longest race win streak in Formula One history. And while it's not worth reading into from an analysis perspective, it would be quite fitting for the Dutch and Belgian driver to reach that mark by winning the Belgian Grand Prix this week followed by the Dutch Grand Prix (the next race on the schedule).
Best bet: Max Verstappen to win sprint (-225 at bet365)
It may feel redundant to pile on Max this weekend, but this weekend's events include a Sprint race. For the unaware, the Sprint is essentially a shorter race and around just a third of the distance as the regular races.
This means there are no pit stops, which allows for a car like Verstappen's to gradually pile up its incremental advantages over time, which culminates in a large win. Granted, Max took just second in the first sprint race of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but that was during a time when he was still figuring out his car and was trading wins with teammate Sergio Perez.
And Perez would possess the only car that would theoretically be competitive in this format, and he has been in worse form as of late. In the last six races, Perez has reached the podium just twice and has placed no higher than third during that stretch.
The more recent Sprint race is a much better reflection of how Saturday's Sprint will likely go, which featured Verstappen cruising to a 20+ second win.
As has been the case with Verstappen as of late, the juice is worth the squeeze.
Belgian Grand Prix 2023 starting grid
| Driver | Position |
|---|---|
| Charles Leclerc | 1 |
| Sergio Perez | 2 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 3 |
| Carlos Sainz | 4 |
| Oscar Piastri | 5 |
| Max Verstappen* | 6 |
| Lando Norris | 7 |
| George Russell | 8 |
| Fernando Alonso | 9 |
| Lance Stroll | 10 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | 11 |
| Pierre Gasly | 12 |
| Kevin Magnussen | 13 |
| Valtteri Bottas | 14 |
| Esteban Ocon | 15 |
| Alexander Albon | 16 |
| Zhou Guanyu | 17 |
| Logan Sargeant | 18 |
| Daniel Riccardio | 19 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | 20 |
*Verstappen was fastest in qualifying but is serving a five-spot penalty.
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Belgian Grand Prix 2023 pre-qualifying favorites
Max Verstappen (-360)
Max Verstappen may have lost the battle (qualifying) to Lewis Hamilton but that certainly didn't stop him from winning the war, cruising to a 33-second victory over Lando Norris.
That marks his seventh straight victory and ninth of the season in what has been a complete domination of the sport. He's won each of the last two years here at Spa and the Formula 1 odds suggest he'll do the same this week.
Lando Norris (+900)
The fan-favorite McLaren driver Lando Norris has been making waves in recent weeks.
The car has made great strides and his results are a direct reflection of that, having posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at Silverstone and Hungaroring.
Sergio Perez (+1,200)
Sergio Perez's season has been quite the roller coaster. He finished first or second in each of the first four races but has made it to Q3 just twice in the seven races since then.
His odds have taken quite a hit as a result but as long as he remains in a Red Bull, he'll be running along the top of the grid.
Previous Belgian Grand Prix winners
| Year | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2021 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2020 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2019 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari |
| 2018 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari |
| 2017 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2016 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes |
| 2015 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2014 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull |
| 2013 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull |
Understanding F1 betting odds
The most popular way to bet on Formula 1 odds is by simply picking the winner of a particular race. Other popular F1 betting options include which car/constructor will win and whether or not a particular race car driver will end up on the podium with a Top-3 finish.
F1 race odds usually look like this:
- Sergio Perez +1,400
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $1,400 if Perez wins that particular race. If one driver is especially dominant, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of that driver's odds like this:
- Max Verstappen -120
This means you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on Verstappen winning the race.
