With three wins and five podium finishes through three races, it's been all Red Bull this season and Formula 1 odds are expecting more of the same in Baku.
As per usual, Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are sitting comfortably atop the opening odds board to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30.
Find out where they stand after qualifying and Saturday's sprint race in our full Azerbaijan Grand Prix odds breakdown below.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix odds
| Driver |  |
|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -215 |
| Sergio Perez | +275 |
| Charles Leclerc | +900 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +2,500 |
| Fernando Alonso | +3,000 |
| Carlos Sainz | +3,000 |
| George Russell | +5,500 |
| Lando Norris | +20,000 |
| Lance Stroll | +20,000 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +60,000 |
| Oscar Piastri | +60,000 |
| Esteban Ocon | +60,000 |
| Alex Albon | +60,000 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +100,000 |
| Nyck de Vries | +100,000 |
| Pierre Gasly | +100,000 |
| Nicko Hulkenberg | +100,000 |
| Logan Sargeant | +100,000 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +100,000 |
| Guanyu Zhou | +100,000 |
Odds as of April 29, 2023.
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Azerbaijan Grand Prix favorites
Max Verstappen (-215)
Verstappen has two wins in three tries this season, with the other being a second-place finish after starting at the back of the grid in Jeddah.
The back-to-back defending Drivers' Champion continues to be a dominant force and is routinely an odds-on favorite to win whenever he gets behind the wheel. Baku should be no different — as evidenced by his win here in 2022.
Sergio Perez (+275)
Despite some ongoing tiffs with his Red Bull teammate, Sergio Perez's consistent performance on the track has made him the perfect running mate to Verstappen.
He finished second behind Max at Bahrain, won in Saudi Arabia, and finished fifth in Melbourne after starting at the back of the grid. If for some reason Max doesn't win, Perez is next up.
Fernando Alonso (+3,000)
Three straight podium finishes for the Spanish legend means he's the best of the rest when you look beyond Red Bull at the top of the board.
With that said, he'll need some things to go his way should he really want to threaten victory (maybe a Red Bull retirement or two), as he finished 38.6 seconds behind Max in Bahrain and 20.7 seconds behind Perez in Jeddah.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix opening odds reaction
Max Verstappen to win (-200)
This year has been all about Red Bull, with Max Verstappen (69 points) leading second-place Sergio Perez by 15 points. As expected, Mad Max is the chalk to take home Azerbaijan, and for good reason. Last year's winner by 20.8 seconds cruised to victory last year, flexing Red Bull's dominance in Baku City's straightaways.
Verstappen's odds are short at first sight due to the variance and strangeness of the race. Ferrari has possessed three pole positions in the six years of the race but has never won (only Red Bull and Mercedes have won here). In fact, just two of the six pole winners have even finished on the podium.
But if there was a year to capitalize on (relatively) short odds for Verstappen, it's a year in which he has been as dominant as he has been.
Lean: Bet now before Friday's practices (Best odds: -230 at FanDuel)
Sergio Perez to win (+490)
To that point, teammate Sergio Perez has had his fair share of success early on in the 2023 season. Given that the tight street course has repeatedly created some eye-opening turn of events, there's some method to the madness by taking Verstappen's running mate and the second-best driver on the grid in 2023.
Verstappen has had his fair share of instances of over-aggression over the years, and Azerbaijan is arguably one of the worst courses for that type of reckless approach. Perez, who has picked up wins and steadily great results by being the more level-headed of the two, is in a decent position to benefit from any possible mishaps on Max's behalf.
Last year, Perez finished 20.8 seconds behind Verstappen en route to a second-place finish, but he also had 25 seconds of separation from the third-place finisher George Russell. If Verstappen takes himself out of this race, Perez has shown the ability to run laps around the rest of the grid.
Lean: Bet now before Friday's practices (Best odds: +490 at FanDuel)
Ferrari qualifying winning team (+1,400)
There's no mistake about it, Ferrari's 2023 season has been a disaster thus far. Charles LeClerc, often viewed as Verstappen's biggest threat when it comes to the Driver's Championship, sits tenth in the standings with just six points. His teammate Carlos Sainz has fared much better (fifth with 20 points), but the cumulative Ferrari effort has been a massive disappointment (fourth in Constructor's with 26 points).
Betting on Ferrari to take home a win on Sunday would be a fool's errand given the troubling combination of Azerbaijan's wonky track record and Ferrari's self-inflicted mishaps on race day — but qualifying is a different story entirely.
As mentioned previously they've taken home a qualifying win in three of the six Azerbaijan Grand Prix, and with extended time off and fewer rounds of practice to deteriorate their car and their driver's morale, this weekend's unique format may play in their favor.
Lean: Bet now before Friday's practices (Best odds: +1,000 at DraftKings)
Pick made on April 27, 2023
Azerbaijan Grand Prix starting grid
| Starting Position | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc |
| 2 | Sergio Perez |
| 3 | Max Verstappen |
| 4 | George Russell |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton |
| 7 | Alex Albon |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso |
| 9 | Lance Stroll |
| 10 | Lando Norris |
| 11 | Oscar Piastri |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen |
| 14 | Zhou Guanyu |
| 15 | Valtteri Bottas |
| 16 | Yuki Tsunoda |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly |
| 18 | Nick de Vries |
| 19 | Esteban Ocon |
Previous Azerbaijan Grand Prix winners
Here are the last five winners of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, with Max Verstappen currently the defending champion.
| Year | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2021 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 2020 | No race due to COVID-19 | |
| 2019 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes |
| 2018 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes |
| 2017 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull |
Understanding F1 betting odds
The most popular way to bet on Formula 1 odds is by simply picking the winner of a particular race. Other popular F1 betting options include which car/constructor will win and whether or not a particular race car driver will end up on the podium with a Top-3 finish.
F1 race odds usually look like this:
- Sergio Perez +1,400
This means that on a $100 bet, you'll stand to profit $1,400 if Perez wins that particular race. If one driver is especially dominant, you might see a minus sign (-) ahead of that driver's odds like this:
- Max Verstappen -120
This means that you would need to bet $120 to win $100 on Verstappen winning the race.
