F1 odds: Max Verstappen opens as favorite to win Saudi Arabian Grand Prix heading into race week

The 2023 F1 season is officially underway and Max Verstappen picked up where he left off last year. The Red Bull driver won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday in convincing fashion after claiming the pole position a day earlier. Teammate Sergio Pérez finished second and Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso claimed the third spot on the podium. Charles Leclerc finished a disappointing 19th when his engine shut down on lap 41.

The drivers will now head to Saudi Arabia for the next race on the schedule. The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix runs in two weeks on March 19 at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. Max Verstappen is the defending champion of the race and opens as the favorite to repeat as champ. He is installed at -140 to win at DraftKings Sportsbook. Leclerc follows at +450 and Pérez is third on the odds list at +600.

The most notable thing to take away from the opening odds is around qualifying. If you think Verstappen is going to claim pole position in Jeddah in two weeks, bet on him now because his odds will get even shorter. He would likely drop to -250 or shorter if he claims the pole position.

A year ago, Pérez claimed the pole position, Leclerc was second, Carlos Sainz was third, and Verstappen was fourth. Verstappen finished the race ahead of Leclerc by 0.549 seconds.