Formula 1: Is Max Verstappen still the betting favorite?

The British Grand Prix was not the race Max Verstappen needed, but is the points leader still the favorite to win the 2021 Formula 1 world championship?

Entering Sunday’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was sitting in quite a favorable position. He had just won the first ever Formula 1 sprint qualifying race to take the pole position for the event, giving him four consecutive pole positions, and he had won the three previous races.

If not for a tire blowout late in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he likely would have been on a five-race winning streak — and with a lead much larger than the 32-point lead (33-point lead including the sprint race) he had over Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull have had the upper hand on the seven-time reigning constructor champions this season, and with Verstappen on pole at Silverstone Circuit, they appeared poised to continue that trend.

Unfortunately for the Milton Keynes-based team and the 23-year-old Dutchman, that did not pan out.

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A lunge by Hamilton on the opening lap led to a Verstappen crash, a crash which resulted in him being taken to hospital for further evaluation. Fortunately, he has since been released.

Hamilton was issued what many believed was a rather lenient 10-second penalty, but he overcame it to secure his fourth win through 10 races in 2021. He scored 25 points, 27 including the sprint race, bringing him to within eight of Verstappen, who did score three in the sprint race.

Prior to this 52-lap race around the 18-turn, 3.661-mile (5.892-kilometer) road course in Silverstone, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, WynnBET listed Verstappen as a -500 favorite, meaning a successful $500 bet wins $100 ($600 total payout), and Hamilton as a +350 underdog, meaning a successful $100 bet wins $350 ($450 total payout).

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With Verstappen now ahead by just eight points and Hamilton having finally picked up some momentum by securing a record eighth win at his home track, those odds have dramatically shifted.

Verstappen is still the favorite, but he is only listed at -230, meaning a successful $230 bet wins $100 ($330 total payout), and Hamilton is now listed as a +160 underdog, meaning a successful $100 bet wins $160 ($260 total payout).

The 11th of 23 races on the 2021 Formula 1 schedule and the final race before this year’s summer break is the Hungarian Grand Prix, which is set to be broadcast live on ESPN from the Hungaroring beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, August 1.

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