F1 betting cannot compete with the likes of pro football, baseball or basketball, but as interest in the sport grows across America every year it’s set to become a lot more popular.
More than 20 races each year, coupled with high drama and danger, means it’s a great sport to watch and wager on. The start times are also pretty nice – great slot to fill on a lazy Sunday morning with most races roaring into action at 0900 or 1000 ET.
Superstars like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc provide plenty of excitement and glamor on a calendar which is truly global. In fact, every region pretty much has a race right now.
The 2021 season provided stellar entertainment, with Hamilton and Verstappen engaged in a thrilling title race which the Dutchman won on the very last lap of the year. Get the very latest odds and our Grand Prix picks by clicking here.
Interest in the U.S. is expected to grow even more in 2022 when a second American race is added to the season.
As well as the existing United States Grand Prix (held each October/November at Circuit Of The Americas in Austin, TX), F1 is planning a Miami Grand Prix from 2022 onward – it’s currently scheduled for May 8. That race is due to take place in a custom-built complex at the Hard Rock Stadium.
Is betting on F1 legal?
F1 betting is absolutely now legal in many states after the 2018 decision by the Supreme Court to strike down the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (P.A.S.P.A). P.A.S.P.A previously stopped states outside Nevada gambling on a single game.
There are now more than 20 states which have legalized sports betting, and the number is growing all the time. Most are either in the final stages of legalization, or have bills on deck which will get them across the line.
Your options F1 betting options depend on where you are right now. Betting laws in the U.S. are all about location – not residency. If – for example – you’re living in Louisville, KY, where betting is still illegal, you just need to take I-65 across the Ohio river into Indiana, and you’re legally able to place bets once you get there.
If you’re currently in a state where online betting is legal, you can likely download an app to your cellphone and bet from anywhere in that state.
Check out our betting laws and state guides to get the very latest on the evolving situation.
F1 betting odds and lines
F1 lines are posted ahead of each race, and there are two main options:
- Money line
- Place betting
These odds are normally avaialble within hours of the last race finishing, and they can fluctuate in a big way ahead of lights-out on Sunday.
Friday practice gives you some clues about what might happen over the weekend, and qualifying often provides a huge shake-up in the odds once the grid is set.
There are some races on the calendar (notably Monaco) where it’s pretty much impossible to pass during the race, so grid-positions become super-important. This is why the odds on Saturday evening are often very very different to Friday.
F1 money line
The simplest and easiest line in F1 – you’re just betting who will win the race. Nothing more, nothing less.
The odds work in the same way they do for other sports. Your pick will either have a + symbol before it or a -.
A couple of examples to show you how it all works:
- Max Verstappen is -130 for the Monaco Grand Prix. This means you’d need to bet $130 to win $100.
- Lewis Hamilton is +200 for the same race. This means you’d win $200 if you bet $100.
F1 place betting
Place betting is a great way in F1 to make things a little more interesting.
With Mercedes and now Red Bull so dominant at the front of the grid right now, the podium places are often pretty much tied up before the race starts. So you’ll need other ways to sprice things up.
If you bet a driver for a place there are different rules and lines with different sportsbooks. Some offer odds for the driver to place in the top 2, sometimes in the top 3, sometimes in the top 10.
F1 prop bets
F1 is not a huge betting sport in the U.S. (yet) though popularity is really growing. Thanks Netflix for that epic ‘Drive To Survive’ documentary series (recommended watching).
But you can still make use of props (proposition bets), which can be around just about anything except the actual result of the race. For example which team will feature the winning driver.
F1 head-to-head bets
Head-to-head bets are another way to add some fun to your F1 viewing on Sundays throughout the year.
Instead of betting a driver to win a race, you’re just betting them to beat another specific driver.
This can be real exciting if the two cars are evenly matched. It means you still can have interest right up to the final corner even if the race winner is already decided.
F1 public betting
Public betting tells you which bets in F1 are most popular – and this is displayed in two different ways:
1 Percentage of bets placed: How many bets have been placed on each driver or team.
2 Percentage of money wagered: How much money has been bet on each driver or team. This is a good way to figure out where the sharps and the high rollers are putting down their dollars.
If you’re a rookie F1 gambler, and not sure who to bet on, public betting is a pretty good hint.
F1 futures
Futures bets, as the name suggests, could be something that doesn’t happen for another year.
You can bet on next year’s F1 championship pretty much as soon as the current one finishes.
Because there are so many unknowns with betting way out, the odds are often bigger. Risk and reward, people.
F1 parlays
A parlay is where you make multiple picks in the same bet – and you can do this for F1. You might pick a driver to win a race and another driver to win a head-to-head and put them together in a parlay.
The upside of a parlay is you are multiplying the odds and accumulating huge wins if all your picks come in. The downside – more picks need to win so it’s harder, overall.
The lack of F1 lines means your parlay options are a little limited. But as interest grows in F1 in the U.S. we expect more odds to become available. Supply and demand – it’s the law of the betting jungle.
F1 picks
It definitely pays to check out some expert picks if you are new to betting on F1. Even if you already have knowledge of the sport it still pays to check out what other people are thinking, sometimes. The insights can often help you.
At OddsCritic we provide free expert-picks on every single F1 Grand Prix, along with season futures bets before the new year gets under way.
Where can I bet on F1?
All of the major sportsbooks offer odds on F1 in 2022.
The lines might be limited at times, but you can always get your money down.
We’ve reviewed the country’s leading operators for you so you don’t have to. Check out our online bookmakers section.
F1 bonus signup offers
If you’re new to betting on sports, one thing you should absolutely know – the power is in your hands.
Online bookmakers are desperate to get your business, and they’ll pay for the opportunity.
That means sportsbooks compete by offering terrific promotional bonuses for new customers.
You are not limited to one either, you can sign up with multiple sportsbooks and get all the available offers.
This means a lot of free money, and you can shop round for the best available odds too.
Check out our betting signup bonuses page for the best current offers.