Formula 1 championship odds not as close as you’d expect

The Formula 1 championship odds with eight of the 22 races remaining on the 2021 calendar may not be as close as many would expect.

Formula 1 action is scheduled to resume this weekend at Sochi Autodrom after a tripleheader led into a well-earned weekend off this past weekend. This Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix is the 15th race on the 22-race 2021 calendar.

Through 14 races, there are just five points separating the two title protagonists atop the driver standings, meaning that if either one of them wins this Sunday’s race, he will be the championship leader no matter what else happens.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, whose seven victories are more than double his previous single-season career-high, leads the standings with 226.5 points.

Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time and four-time reigning world champion, has earned four victories to bring his career total to a record 99, but only one of them has come in the last four and a half months. He has scored 221.5 points.

After each of the last five races, the gap between these two drivers in the standings has been no more than eight points, and both drivers have held an eight-point lead during this span.

So the current championship odds may surprise you in that they are not as close as you might expect.

Take a look at the world championship odds for these two drivers, courtesy of WynnBET.

• Max Verstappen: -170
• Lewis Hamilton: +100

This means that you need to successfully bet $170 on Verstappen to win $100 ($270 return) but only $100 on Hamilton to win $100 ($200 return).

Make your pick now on WynnBET.

For a championship this close, you’d expect these odds to be more like -120/-105 or even closer to something like -115/-110.

By the way, none of the other drivers are worth betting on, but if you want to view their odds, please do visit WynnBET.

Let’s also not forget that Mercedes are unbeaten at Sochi Autodrom (seven for seven), and Verstappen is slated to take a three-position grid penalty for the Russian Grand Prix as a result of the clash between himself and Hamilton in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza two weekends ago.

However, many believe that more tracks will suit Red Bull and Verstappen better than they will Mercedes and Hamilton as the season comes to a close.

Tune in to ESPN at 7:55 a.m. ET this Sunday, September 26 for the live broadcast of the Russian Grand Prix from Sochi Autodrom. If you have not yet begun your free trial of FuboTV, this would be a great time to do so!