Chares LeClerc, fresh off of a win at the F1 Qatar Grand Prix, has secured pole position a whole three tenths ahead of the rest of the field and is now the odds-on favorite to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Can he convert his wonderful Saturday into a race win Sunday?
Continue reading for free Azerbaijan Grand Prix picks and predictions for Sunday, September 15th.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 odds
| Player/Team | Pre-qualifying | Post-qualifying |
|---|---|---|
 Lando Norris |
+120 | +4,000 |
 Charles Leclerc |
+290 | -140 |
| Oscar Piastri |
+500 | +280 |
 Max Verstappen |
+750 | +1,200 |
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of 9-14.
| Name | Pre-qualifying | Post-qualifying |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Sainz |
+1,000 | +1,100 |
 Lewis Hamilton |
+1,100 | +2,500 |
| George Russell |
+1,400 | +1,600 |
| Sergio Perez |
+2,500 | +1,300 |
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of 9-14.
| Name | Pre-qualifying | Post-qualifying |
|---|---|---|
 Fernando Alonso |
+25,000 | +20,000 |
 Alexander Albon |
+25,000 | +25,000 |
 Yuki Tsunoda |
+30,000 | +60,000 |
 Nico Hulkenberg |
+30,000 | +60,000 |
| Lance Stroll |
+30,000 | +60,000 |
| Oliver Bearman |
+30,000 | +60,000 |
| Daniel Ricciardo |
+30,000 | +70,000 |
 Pierre Gasly |
+40,000 | +60,000 |
| Franco Colapinto |
+40,000 | +30,000 |
| Esteban Ocon |
+40,000 | +70,000 |
 Valtteri Bottas |
+50,000 | +80,000 |
| Guanyu Zhou |
+50,000 | +80,000 |
Odds courtesy of DraftKings as of 9-14.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 post-qualifying picks
Charles LeClerc to win
2024 has been a much-needed and reassuring return to form for Charles LeClerc, who has seen results this season more akin to the beginning of 2022, when he won twice and took runner-up two more times in the first five races.
LeClerc now has two wins this season after last week, and is poised to take his first back-to-back wins since 2019. He also carries with him a three-race podium streak (his second of the season), demonstrating a level of consistency he has lacked in that regard since late 2022.
And it wasn't just the fact that he took pole on Saturday, it's the fact that he took it by three-tenths over the rest of the field — notably over Oscar Piastri (second) and Lando Norris, who was surprisingly eliminated in Q1 and will start 17th on the grid.
Lando Norris Top-6 finish
Speaking of Norris, he has odds on this particular prop that you will rarely ever find again due to his misfortune on Saturday.
Norris was eliminated in the first round of qualifying after driving over a yellow flag during his second lap of Q1, effectively ending his second lap prematurely and giving him just his first lap time to work with — a lap many use essentially as a warm-up lap.
But Norris is notoriously great at climbing the grid when needed and rarely surrendering position, especially to lesser drivers and lesser cars. Sunday should be no different, given he has been good enough to hit the podium 10 times in 16 races this year and has finished outside the Top 6 just twice — once to an early retirement.
Oscar Piastri to podium
This is not a bold prop to take, but it is a smart one.
The young McLaren driver has been really coming into form as of late, hitting the podium in four of the last six races (and his two misses being by a single place each time) including his first career win.
He took just 11th here last year, but that was just his fourth career race, and it was ultimately his third-best result across the first half of the season before he finally got a handle on things and began stringing together Top-10 finishes.
Piastri also, in theory, has one less person fighting for podium positioning, with Norris starting from 17th, who should threaten a Top-6 finish but would need to put on an all-time performance to threaten the podium.
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 starting grid
| Position | Driver | Position | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | 2 | Oscar Piastri |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | 4 | Sergio Perez |
| 5 | George Russell | 6 | Max Verstappen |
| 7 | Lewis Hamilton | 8 | Fernando Alonso |
| 9 | Franco Colapinto | 10 | Alexander Albon |
| 11 | Oliver Bearman | 12 | Yuki Tsunoda |
| 13 | Pierre Gasly | 14 | Nico Hulkenberg |
| 15 | Lance Stroll | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo |
| 17 | Lando Norris | 18 | Valtteri Bottas |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | 20 | Esteban Ocon |
Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2024 pre-qualifying favorites
Since winning the Spanish Grand Prix in late June, Max Verstappen has not won a race in six tries and has only finished on the podium twice. Most recently, he finished sixth at the Italian GP — a race he had won in consecutive years in 2022 and 2023.
With how things are going, past performance can't entirely be counted on to support backing Verstappen after winning the Azerbaijan GP in 2022 and finishing second to teammate Sergio Perez (the only multi-time winner at the event since its inception in 2017). So, it's reasonable to see Verstappen fourth on the odds board when weighing his recent results.
For now, he's +750 to win, trailing both Mercedes drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, who is fresh off the Italian victory. However, it's not quite as simple as pegging Leclerc to win — he's second on the board at +290 behind Norris (+120), for what it's worth. No driver other than Verstappen has won back-to-back races this year and Leclerc's triumph in Italy was his first since Monaco in late May.
Leclerc, Norris, and Lewis Hamilton have each won exactly two races this year. Only Verstappen has won more.
Qualifying will tell the tale. Perhaps Verstappen can get back in the winner's circle, perhaps not. And despite the newly found parity, a long shot winner still seems like a pipe dream as none of the below-the-line drivers have nabbed a checkered flag this racing season.
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Previous Azerbaijan Grand Prix winners
| Year | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 2022 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull |
| 2021 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull |
| 2020 | NOT HELD | 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.
