2023 Bahrain Grand Prix Prediction, Formula 1 Odds

The Ferrari driver kicked off 2022 with an impressive victory in Bahrain while also claiming the pole and recording the fastest lap, and has reached the podium in two of his past four appearances at this event. However, Leclerc’s subsequent struggles last season cast doubt over his ability to repeat in Bahrain. And after enjoying an impressive performance in pre-season testing on this track, the talented Monte Carlo native will likely find himself once again chasing reigning champion Max Verstappen, who looks to Round 1 as the race favourite.

Verstappen has emerged as a solid -125 favourite to open the season with a win in Bahrain, well ahead of Leclerc, who trails as a fading +382 second favourite on the Bahrain Grand Prix odds. A five-time winner at Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton follows at +462, while Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz Jr. round out the top of the odds board deadlocked at +900.

Max Verstappen -145
Fernando Alonso +536
Sergio Perez +686
Charles Leclerc +735
Lewis Hamilton +1300
Carlos Sainz +1800
George Russell +2200
Lance Stroll +9400
Lando Norris +24400
Valtteri Bottas +24400
Pierre Gasly +27000
Guanyu Zhou +28600
Kevin Magnussen +28600
Esteban Ocon +28600
Nico Hulkenberg +30400
Oscar Piastri +41600
Nyck de Vries +83300
Yuki Tsunoda +103400
Logan Sargeant +111000
Alexander Albon +124900

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Bahrain Grand Prix Race Time, Weather Forecast

Lights out at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled for 10:00am ET on Sunday morning at Bahrain International Circuit. The track measures 5.412 kilometres in length with three DRS zones and two long straightaways. Weather is not expected to be an issue, with clear skies and temperatures in 70s Fahrenheit forecast for race time.

Verstappen Opens the Season Favoured to Defend Title

After eking out his first F1 championship win in 2021, Verstappen set himself apart from the rest of the pack last season, winning a record 15 races on the way to a dominating title defence. Not surprisingly, Verstappen opens the new campaign comfortably perched atop the F1 championship futures as a -160 favourite to repeat, with arch-rivals Leclerc and Hamilton lagging at +425 and +453, respectively.

Perez, Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing teammate, played a key role in the 25-year-old’s meteoric rise. Nicknamed the “Mexican Minister of Defence” by Verstappen for his impressive performances while helping Verstappen protect race leads, Perez is coming off a career season in 2022, tallying two wins and 11 podium finishes, and is pegged as a +1900 bet on the F1 futures. However, “Checo’s” relationship with Verstappen soured down the stretch last season, casting doubt on just how long he will remain with Red Bull.

F1 Teams Sporting New Looks

The off-season brought a number of changes to F1 team lineups. Former champion Fernando Alonso shocked French racing fans with his decision to leave Alpine Racing, and take over the seat at Aston Martin made vacant by Sebastian Vettel’s retirement.

With Alonso’s departure, Alpine jumped the gun in announcing that rising star Oscar Piastri would join the team. The 21-year-old publicly rebuked the Renault squad while joining British rival McLaren, replacing the departing Daniel Ricciardo. While Piastri is not expected to be a factor in the hunt for this year’s F1 title, he is getting respect from oddsmakers ahead of his McLaren debut, and sports attractive +700 odds to crack the top six in Bahrain on Sunday.

Elsewhere, Nyck de Vries takes over the wheel from Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri, sporting distant +83300 odds on the F1 futures. Gasly has moved to Alpine to replace Alonso, but will have a lot to prove after finishing a distant 14th in the F1 Drivers Standings last season. And last but not least, Logan Sargent has joined Williams Racing, replacing Canadian Nicholas Latifi, and opens the campaign as a +111100 longshot on the championship odds.