Formula 1 Betting Guide

Formula 1 racing is not a year round sport and only 18 races are conducted in a year. However, it does offer plenty of betting action during the season, which usually runs from March to October.

Many Formula 1 betting newbies think that betting opportunities are limited to picking the eventual winner of each race (or maybe the runner up). Of course, they are wrong. In fact Formula 1 is an intricate sport and there are a wide range of bets to reflect that.

Bets on Qualifying

The day before every Formula 1 Grand Prix race, the teams compete in a qualifying hour to determine their starting position on the grid for the race itself. This qualifying hour is a betting event in its own right, and - by betting with both traditional bookmakers and spread betting firms - you can speculate on everything from qualifying times through who will get win Pole Position.

Bets on Individual Races

The Grand Prix race itself is obviously a focal point for Formula 1 fans who like to have a bet. The most popular bet is one where you pick a driver to be the outright winner of an event. You can bet to win or each way. Bet to win and your nominated driver must win the race for your bet to win, but if you bet each way you will receive a payout at 1/5th of the win odds if he finishes in first, second or third place.

You can also bet on the "Top Scoring Constructor" in an event. This allows you to bet on any participating constructor (such as Renault, Williams or Mc Laren) to achieve the highest number of constructor championship points at the designated event. This is a popular bet, as constructors receive points for finishing in any of the first eight places.

Bets on Overall Championship

The appeal of bets related to the overall championship is simple to understand - one bet can provide you with a financial interest in Formula 1 racing for the entire season. It doesn't always matter so much if your nominated team or driver fail to do well in the first Grand Prix race of the season, because they may do much better in subsequent events and still come out on top overall. Again, the two main types of bet here relate to individual drivers and constructors.

You can nominate an individual to win the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship, and you can bet to win or each win. Betting to win requires the individual to win, but betting each way means that you will get a smaller payout (usually 1/3rd of the win odds) if that individual comes first or second overall. Betting on a team to win the Formula 1 World Constructors Championship does not allow for each way betting, but since there are half as many teams as there are drivers, this makes sense.