Formula 1: Max Verstappen removed from championship odds

Max Verstappen is so far ahead in the Formula 1 driver standings that he has been removed from the world championship odds.

Amid the current three-week break between the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and this Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, the first Formula 1 race at Marina Bay Street Circuit since 2019, reigning world champion Max Verstappen is riding a five-race win streak.

It has been more than two months since a driver other than Verstappen took the checkered flag. With six races remaining in the 22-race schedule, the Red Bull driver already owns a career-high 11 victories, and his lead in the driver standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc has grown to 116 points.

Verstappen can potentially clinch the title in the Singapore Grand Prix. After this race, there will be a maximum of 138 points on the table for each driver. Race winners score 25 points each, and there is an additional point awarded each race for the driver who records the fastest lap.

There is also another sprint qualifying race on the schedule, and the winner of that race scores eight points.

Verstappen has already clinched the tiebreaker over Leclerc — and everybody else for that matter. Leclerc owns three victories this season and trails only Verstappen in that category, and he can only possibly earn six more to increase that total to nine.

With the title all but locked up, Verstappen has been totally removed from the world championship odds on WynnBET.

The sportsbook believes that even taking bets on Verstappen at crazy odds such as -20000 (bet $200 to win $1) would result in a loss, with the 25-year-old Dutchman clinching a second consecutive title seen as a matter of when, not if.

There are still world championship odds listed, however, but those odds are classified as “Drivers Championship 2022 – w/o Max Verstappen – Winner”.

Because Verstappen could still technically finish in second place, these odds aren’t listed as “Drivers Championship 2022 – 2nd Place”, so it was simpler just to remove him.

Here are those odds among the five drivers who currently sit from second to sixth place in the standings.

• Charles Leclerc, Ferrari: -220
• Sergio Perez, Red Bull: +425
• George Russell, Mercedes: +475
• Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari: +1300
• Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes: +1400

Here are the current standings among these five drivers.

• 2nd – Charles Leclerc – 219 (-)
• 3rd – Sergio Perez – 210 (-9)
• 4th – George Russell – 203 (-16)
• 5th – Carlos Sainz Jr. – 187 (-32)
• 6th – Lewis Hamilton – 168 (-51)

Leclerc certainly deserves to be the favorite, but given the litany of mistakes Ferrari have made this year, there is no reason to believe that he is a lock for second place.

Perez has had a recent run of subpar results and is still only nine points back, so any improvement would likely keep him in contention, and Russell continues to get the most he can get out of the Mercedes every race. Given the team’s recent improvement and goal of swiping second place from Ferrari in the constructor standings, he also cannot be ignored.