As a fan of any sport, the hope is always that a championship race goes all the way down to the wire. Sure, there are some fans who have a favorite team or athlete that they would like to see win comfortably, but it always feels better when that victory comes after a long battle. F1 fans are certainly getting a battle for the ages this season, with Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton going toe-to-toe at the top of the driver standings. It could, though, potentially end this weekend, as Verstappen could nab the title with one race to spare. We will get into how that could happen in a moment, but it is worth talking about this race a little before we get to the drivers. There is a definite air of uncertainty as to how this one might play out given that this is the first time that F1 will race in Saudi Arabia. It was a bit of a controversial decision to go there, but let’s leave politics aside and look at some of the drivers who could make an impact this weekend. Let’s jump right into action so you can make your bets against the Formula 1 odds for the upcoming Saudi Arabia Grand Prix.
Formula 1 Betting Analysis for STC 2021 Saudi Arabia Grand Prix Race
Max Verstappen (+200)
No matter how this thing plays out over the next two races, this has been a breakout year for Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. That said, it will be a crushing disappointment for the Dutchman and his team if he fails to win it all after spending so much time at the top of the driver standings. With 9 wins this season, you cannot say that Verstappen is not deserving of a World Championship, especially with so many F1 fans pulling for Hamilton to win his record setting 8th title. He can take a lot of pressure of himself with a win this weekend and could even win the title if he can win and Hamilton finishes outside of the top 5. Given how things have gone this season, the latter part of that equation seems unlikely. If it carries over into the final race of the season, it will be interesting to see how Verstappen handles the pressure.
Lewis Hamilton (-200)
We have become accustomed to seeing Hamilton have the World Championship all sewn up by this stage of the season, which makes what is happening so much fun to watch. The standings now have Hamilton in 2nd, 8 points back of Verstappen. That lead was longer a couple of races ago, but Hamilton has shown the heart of champion, winning each of the last 2 races and chipping away at the lead. At the time of writing, Hamilton is ahead of Verstappen in the first practice for this race, which could be important when you consider that this is a new track for these drivers. If Hamilton can get the win this weekend, he will put some serious pressure on his rival given that Abu Dhabi, the location of the final race, has been very good to Hamilton.
The rest of the pack
While all the focus is on the top two drivers this weekend, there is the possibility that another driver could throw things into turmoil with a win. Realistically, we are looking at Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez as the most likely to create the upset.