Valtteri Bottas Sporting 2nd-Shortest F1 Drivers’ Championship Odds Following Azerbaijan GP Win
- Valtteri Bottas has the second shortest odds to win the 2019 Formula One Drivers’ Championship
- The 29-year-old Finn has won two races to begin the season
- Bottas now trails only teammate Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes remained perfects through the first four races of the Formula One campaign, with Valtteri Bottas taking his second checkered flag of the season at last weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
With the win, the 29-year-old Finn reclaimed a narrow one-point lead over teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Formula One Driver Standings, and now sits as a clear second favorite to claim his first-ever F1 title, sporting short +250 odds to win this year’s Formula One Driver’s Championship.
2019 Formula One Drivers’ Championship Odds
| Driver | Odds |
|---|---|
| Lewis Hamilton | -200 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +250 |
| Sebastian Vettel | +700 |
| Charles Leclerc | +700 |
| Max Verstappen | +6600 |
Odds taken 04/30/19
Bottas on the Rebound Following Disappointing 2018 Campaign
After closing out last year on a disappointing note, recording four straight fifth-place performances to finish fifth on the F1 Driver Standings, Bottas stormed out of the gate this season. The three-year F1 veteran qualified on the front row alongside Hamilton in the Australian Grand Prix, but quickly seized the lead on the first turn, and never looked back, outpacing Hamilton by 20.886 second to claim his first win since 2017.
Valtteri Bottas has produced what he's described as "his best race ever" to claim the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. #9News pic.twitter.com/AIiiVcvMqN
— Nine News Adelaide (@9NewsAdel) March 17, 2019
Both Bottas and Hamilton capitalized on Ferrari’s early-season struggles two weeks later in Bahrain, with Hamilton picking up the win and Bottas finishing second, a scene that repeated itself at the Chinese Grand Prix. However, Bottas returned to the top of the podium with a spectacular performance in Baku, taking the pole for the second time this season before once again topping Hamilton by a narrow 1.524 seconds.
Four Straight Victories Leaves Mercedes in F1 Driver’s Seat
Now just two months into the 2019 Formula One season, what was expected to be a tight race between Mercedes and Ferrari has quickly turned into a fierce battle between teammates Bottas and Hamilton, with Mercedes now perched as massive -714 favorites to win a sixth straight F1 Constructors’ Championship.
Select – @MercedesAMGF1 have now secured 57 one-two starts, 43 one-two finishes, 81 Grand Prix wins, 5 World Drivers' and World Constructors' Championships, and 164 podium finishes since @LewisHamilton joined the team in 2013. @F1 #Mercedes #Hamilton #BakuGP #AzerbaijanGP #TeamLH pic.twitter.com/Vo4Ldx1OrA
— Mobil 1 The Grid (@Mobil1TheGrid) April 29, 2019
Winner of 10 of the past 15 Formula One races, including back-to-back victories in Bahrain and China, defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton remains the clear favorite to claim a sixth career title, sporting short -200 odds on the Formula One Drivers’ Championship odds.
Winner of 10 of the past 15 Formula One races, defending F1 champion Lewis Hamilton remains the clear favorite to claim a sixth career title this season.
And unlike over at rival Ferrari, where budding star Charles Leclerc has been repeatedly ordered to allow veteran teammate Sebastian Vettel to pass on race day, often despite turning in superior performances, the situation at Mercedes is far more wide open, with Hamilton and Bottas openly jockeying for position among themselves.
Concerns Emerging Over Potential Rivalry Between Bottas, Hamilton
That has raised concerns that the relationship between the Mercedes teammates could quickly deteriorate, spurring team boss Toto Wolff to issue a rare warning to his drivers following their success in Baku.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is warning Hamilton & Bottas about their conduct amid fears of a 2016 repeat
Full story here: https://t.co/5gPsV0B3H8#F1 pic.twitter.com/uoovciHZhW
— InsideRacing.com (@INSIDERACINGcom) April 29, 2019
In-house rivalry is nothing new for Hamilton. The 28-year-old Englishman engaged in a notorious rivalry with long-time friend Nico Rosberg following his arrival at Mercedes in 2013, which turned ugly following Hamilton’s bid to outmaneuver the German in the final race of 2016 in Abu Dhabi in a bid to claim the F1 title. The attempt failed and Rosberg managed to narrowly outpace Hamilton and claim the title before retiring at the end of the 2016 season.
New video by FORMULA 1: Rosberg's Intense Final Lap and Celebrations | 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix https://t.co/w1SGgfH3bm
— MG (@MG__Racing) November 24, 2017
With Hamilton now doing some of the best driving of his career, and looking towards the upcoming Spanish Grand Prix as a +135 favorite to claim a third straight victory on the circuit at Barcelona, it may take equal doses of driving prowess and ruthlessness for Bottas to unseed his Mercedes teammate and claim this year’s crown.
Pick: Lewis Hamilton (-200)
Daniel has been writing about sports and sports betting for over 23 years. The seasoned pro has contributed to the likes of Sports Illustrated, Sportsnet, NESN, Bleacher Report, OddsShark, the Globe and Mail, and The Nation magazine.
