At the beginning of any discussion about who will win the Formula One championship for 2019 has to be Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton drives for Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport as its marquee man with good reason. He has beaten the Auto Racing Betting Odds for five career Formula One championships including the last two seasons in a row. Additionally, Hamilton won back to back titles in 2014 and 2015. Hamilton started his career with Formula One in 2007 and wasted no time impressing all. He had immediate success with the finishing second in the standings as a rookie.
Extending Hamilton’s reputation with the Auto Racing betting odds is his dominance of the Formula One record book. It begins with the fact that he is the youngest driver to lead a world championship at the age of 22. Further he holds such records as most points in a season, most career points, and most pole positions. Hamilton set that most points in a season with 408 last year. As a result of his dominant reputation Hamilton opened as a 4/5 favorite to win the 2019 Formula One title. At age 34 fans wonder when Hamilton will peak.
Other Names to Consider
Following Hamilton as the chalk is Sebastian Vettel at 5/2, Valterri Bottas 4/1, Max Verstappen at 8/1 and Charles Leclerc at 10/1. On the next tier is Pierre Gasly 100/1, Kevin Magnussen 250/1, Kami Raikkonen 250/1, and Nico Hulkenberg 250/1. It follows that Hamilton’s manufacturer Mercedes is the constructor favorite at 2/5. After Mercedes top choices include Ferrari at 13/8, Red Bull 10/1, Haas at 200/1.
Valterri Bottas
In the quest of his first championship is 29-year-old Valterri Bottas. Last year Bottas finished fifth in the Formula One standings after finishing third in 2017. Bottas drives for Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport as Hamilton’s teammate and is tabbed as their future top driver. Although Bottas has only four career wins he has 31 podiums in an F1 career that began in 2013. His best season was in 2017 with three wins and four poles. Compared to Hamilton he has a long way to go. For example, Hamilton posted 11 wins and 11 poles last year.
Now Valterri Bottas got off to a fantastic start to the 2019 season with a sportsbook win in the Australian Grand Prix. Hamilton won the pole and finished second behind his Mercedes teammate. Simultaneously Max Verstappen was also impressive at Australia with a third-place finish. Verstappen is worth considering in 2019 after a career best third place finish in the standings last season.
Sebastian Vettel
And then there is the four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel. Starting with his membership on the famed Ferrari team is potential Auto Racing betting odds value this year. Likewise, Vettel has 52 career wins and 111 podiums. Of major concern is the fact that the German has not won a championship since 2013. Balanced against that is the still impressive second place finish in the final standings for both 2018 and 2017. Last year Vettel posted five wins and five poles with 12 podiums in 21 starts.
Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi Raikkonen remains a fan favorite. Consistent with that was Raikkonen finishing a career best third in the standings for 2018. On the other hand, Raikkonen has posted only three career wins since the 2012 season.