BetMGM - Bahrain F1 Betting Tips
Formula 1 roars back into action this week with the first of a record-breaking 24-race schedule in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Fans should note that the season starts with a Saturday race rather than the traditional Sunday slot to be sure not to miss out.
All eyes will be on the first race of the season in the hope that the teams can serve up a more competitive championship than in 2023, when Red Bulls' Max Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races.
Pre-season testing suggested the Dutchman should still have the edge on his rivals but Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren are hopeful of at least providing the world champion with stronger opposition this time around.
Charles Leclerc podium finish @ 9/10
Ferrari appear to be best-placed to end Red Bull's period of dominance this season and they should give a good account of themselves in the opening race, even if they can't deny Max Verstappen a fourth successive world title.
The famous red cars showed up well in pre-season testing and there is hope that they can throw down a much stronger challenge than in 2023, although they were the only team other than Red Bull to win a race thanks to Carlos Sainz Jr.'s success in Singapore.
Charles Leclerc looks even more likely to be given number one status at Ferrari this season as Sainz is leaving the team next year to be replaced by Lewis Hamilton, and he finished last season strongly by finishing runner-up to Verstappen in the final two races of last season.
The Monegasque driver has some good form in Bahrain, winning the race in 2022 and he was running third last year when he suffered engine trouble.
Taking Leclerc at 9/10 to finish in the top three may be the safer choice for a bet on the race with Verstappen priced at just 33/100 to make a winning start, although bolder bettors may prefer a small interest on the second-favourite to win the race at 8/1.
Daniel Ricciardo top-six finish @ 10/1
The other team in the Red Bull family has been renamed Visa Cash App RB this season, or VCARB and even just RB for short, but the team known as Alpha Tauri last season look set to make an impression in 2024, whatever you call them.
The team's close relationship with Red Bull has come in for criticism, but they appear to be making progress through the midfield teams and finished the 2023 season strongly with Yuki Tsunoda finishing in the points at three of the final five races.
His Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo emerged from a spell in the F1 wilderness when joining the team in the middle of the season and while his progress was slowed by a hand injury that caused him to miss five races, he could emerge as the team leader this year.
Ricciardo has a decent opportunity to secure a top-10 points finish in the opener at 17/20 but it could pay to take a chance that he can do even better and claim a top-six finish at 10/1.
Winning margin 10 seconds or more @ 5/4
There are solid grounds for backing a winning margin of more than 10 seconds in Saturday's race and it also provides some welcome insurance in case we see a repeat of last season with Verstappen disappearing into the distance.
The world champion won by more than 10 seconds in four of the final six races of last season, taking the chequered flag when 17, 13, 10 and 19 seconds in those events.
It's hard to have much faith in Verstappen's team-mate Sergio Perez giving him much of a battle given that he never finished ahead of the Dutchman after his two wins in the first four races of last season and was rarely even able to stay close to him for long.
Verstappen won this race by 17 seconds last season last year, and, while a late safety car could scupper it, under normal circumstances a clear margin of victory looks a likely outcome in Bahrain.