Formula 1 returns to Losail International Circuit for the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, October 8.
The race was first held in 2021 but was off the calendar last year due to the FIFA World Cup. Lewis Hamilton took the checkered flag in the race's maiden voyage, but that seems like a lifetime ago and he's not exactly expected to repeat as winner.
Let's take a look at the F1 betting odds following qualifiers as the season barrels toward crowning the 2023 F1 World Drivers' Champion.
Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix 2023 odds
| Driver | Team |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | Red Bull | -400 | -600 | -600 |
| George Russell | Mercedes | +1,300 | +1,400 | +1,200 |
| Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1,600 | <+1,400>> | <<+1,400> |
| Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +2,000 | +2,200 | +1,800 |
| Lando Norris | McLaren | +2,000 | +2,500 | +1,800 |
| Oscar Piastri | McLaren | +2,800 | +3,300 | +2,500 |
| Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +3,200 | +3,300 | +3,300 |
| Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +5,000 | +6,600 | +5,000 |
| Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +5,000 | +5,000 | +5,000 |
Odds as of Oct. 7, 2023.
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Japanese Grand Prix 2023 post-qualifying picks coming soon!
Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix 2023 starting grid
| Starting position | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen |
| 2 | George Russell |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc |
| 6 | Oscar Piastri |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas |
| 10 | Lando Norris |
| 11 | Yuki Tsunoda |
| 12 | Carlos Sainz |
| 13 | Sergio Perez |
| 14 | Alexander Albon |
| 15 | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 16 | Logan Sargeant |
| 17 | Lance Stroll |
| 18 | Liam Lawson |
| 19 | Kevin Magnussen |
| 20 | Zhou Guanyu |
Qatar Grand Prix 2023 pre-qualifying picks
Max Verstappen to win (-400 at DraftKings)
After slipping to as "short" as -300 for the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen finds himself favored in/near the -400 range after his convincing win.
Track history and recent form typically play a moderate to large role in determining odds, and the lack of overlap between top performers in the lone prior Qatar Grand Prix and racers in top recent form has caused odds to be a bit wild and for the certainty to understandably be laid behind Verstappen.
Verstappen was the runner-up in the qualifying of that last Grand Prix but was dropped to seventh position for the race for failing to respect a double-waved yellow flag. Despite the penalty, Verstappen was able to climb the grid for a second-place finish.
Mad Max is the only reliable option on the odds screen but his odds are simply too short to back as-is.
Lean: Only bet post-qualifying if his odds get better.
Lewis Hamilton to win (+2,800 at FanDuel)
The next person naturally worth examining is the last and only winner of the Qatar Grand Prix — Lewis Hamilton. Considering his victory at this venue two seasons ago and, of course, his extensive track record as the sport's greatest racer of all time, Hamilton appears like an appealing play.
Despite reaching the podium just once in the last six showings and in just five of this year's 16 races, the masterclass Hamilton displayed in 2021 on this track is hard to ignore entirely. In qualifying, he held off both Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas by 0.6 seconds, despite both receiving penalties during their efforts to beat Hamilton.
During the race, Hamilton cruised to a dominant 25.743-second win over second-place Verstappen and finished nearly a minute ahead of the rest of the field.
Lean: Bet before qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton fastest lap (+1,400 at Unibet)
As mentioned above, Hamilton hasn't had the best set of results on race Sunday in a while. It's hard to ignore his singular podium appearance in his last six races, but that doesn't mean he can't "win" in other ways.
In fact, he has done exactly that, having secured the fastest lap at both the Singapore and Belgian Grand Prix — both of which occurred during this underwhelming six-race stretch.
Hamilton may not find himself on the podium on Sunday, but he has the (single-race) track record and recent form that suggests he could walk away with Sunday's fastest lap.
Lean: Bet prior to free practice and qualifying.
Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix 2023 pre-qualifying favorites
Max Verstappen (-400 to -450)
Max Verstappen finished second in Qatar in 2021 as he cruised to his first F1 championship later that season. He's understandably the overwhelming favorite to win it in 2023 as it returns to the schedule. Lewis Hamilton — and Mercedes in general — hasn't been at his accustomed level of competition this year, finishing second twice. In fact, since winning the 2021 Qatar GP, Hamilton has claimed just one more race victory (the 2021 Saudi Arabian GP) and has been kept from the top spot for nearly two years.
Verstappen finished fifth at Singapore two races ago, marking the first time he's missed a podium since last November (Sao Paolo GP), and is one of only three races he hasn't won in 2023. He rebounded to take first at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24.
Lando Norris (+1,000 to +1,200)
Lando Norris has turned his season around in recent competitions, finishing second four times in seven races, including two straight in Singapore and Japan. His recent uptick in performance has seen him become one of the more highly-touted names on the betting board.
Norris finished ninth at Qatar in 2021 and despite his recent string of podiums, he has yet to win a race in F1.
Sergio Perez (+1,200)
Verstappen's Red Bull teammate is running in third on the odds board. Checo has generally helped establish Red Bull's dominance in 2023, finishing on the podium eight times. However, he was forced to retire from the Japan GP and finished a distant eighth in Singapore.
He was a fourth-place finish in 2021.
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Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix opening odds reaction
Verstappen is the betting favorite, which has been the norm for essentially two years at this point. Prior Qatar GP winner Lewis Hamilton isn't quite a long shot, but he has not won a race since shortly after the 2021 running in Qatar. As a result, he can't be counted on as a dark horse.
Carlos Sainz pulled off a surprise win in Singapore two races ago, following his first podium of the year when he finished third in Italy, but immediately dropped back to sixth in Japan. His odds aren't exactly encouraging to win his second race of 2023 (which would be the third of his career).
This race has very little history to it, considering it debuted in 2021 and was preempted in favor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup a year ago, so there is little data to go on. As far as the odds are concerned, what little data is available is largely unimportant as it's Verstappen's world and only the odd blip has pushed him to the side over the last couple of years.
Previous Qatar Grand Prix Grand Prix winners
| Year | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
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 that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on Verstappen winning the race.
