Formula 1 was already a massive global phenomenon, but with “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” painting an even more intimate picture of the sport’s biggest personalities, popularity is at an all-time high. The 2022 F1 season began in Bahrain last week and Ferrari captured it’s first win since 2019, with Charles LeClerc and Carlos Sainz earning a 1-2 finish. Now the Italian giant will look to keep the momentum going on the Jeddah Street Circuit in the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday with the green flag scheduled to drop at 1 p.m. ET.
Red Bull will be hungry for points after having both its cars retired in the waning moments last week, and Mercedes will be looking to build on a better-than-expected 3-4 finish. LeClerc and defending champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull are listed as the 3-2 co-favorites in the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Sainz is listed at 11-2 and Lewis Hamilton is 9-1 in this week’s Formula 1 odds. Before scouring the 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix starting lineup and making any Formula 1 predictions, be sure to see the latest 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix picks from SportsLine’s proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results. It’s had a strong history of success in motorsports, correctly predicting seven winners during the 2021 NASCAR season and its projected leaderboards have forecasted winners across multiple racing formats.
The model has been hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 races. At the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, the model was strongly backing Verstappen as its top pick. The result: Verstappen dominated the field and ran away with a victory. Then, at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, McClure’s model was all over Hamilton, who completely crushed his competition en route to another victory for the 37-year-old F1 legend.
Now, the model simulated the 2022 F1 Saudi Arabia race 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix leaderboard.
Top 2022 Formula 1 in Saudi Arabia predictions
One massive shocker: Lewis Hamilton, one of the Vegas favorites at 9-1, stumbles big-time and barely cracks the top five. There are far better values in this 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix starting grid. Hamilton saw his run of four consecutive titles halted by Verstappen a season ago in a championship run that went down to the final race.
Verstappen overtook Hamilton on the final lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to win his first title, and many believe that the aggressive Dutch driver has surpassed Hamilton as the most skilled driver in the sport. And after Mercedes tested poorly ahead of the season-opener in Bahrain, Hamilton needed late retirements from Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Carlos Perez to steal a podium finish.
But Hamilton was never a threat to the two Ferrari drivers at the front of the pack despite a late caution that bunched the field back up, and it’s clear that Mercedes will need to make adjustments for Hamilton and the team to compete at a championship level. That’s a big reason why the model is low on his chances this week, predicting that he wins just 5.2 percent of the time despite odds that indicate an implied winning percentage of 10 percent.
How to make 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix picks
The model is also targeting one driver who surprises by challenging for the victory. Anyone who backs this driver could hit it big. You can see all of the model’s F1 picks over at SportsLine.
So who wins the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022? And which long shot makes a run at the checkered flag? Check out the latest 2022 F1 Saudi GP odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix leaderboard, all from the model with a proven history of auto racing success.
2022 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix odds
Charles Leclerc 3-2
Max Verstappen 3-2
Carlos Sainz 11-2
Lewis Hamilton 9-1
Sergio Perez 18-1
George Russell 28-1
Pierre Gasly 100-1
Kevin Magnussen 100-1
Valtteri Bottas 125-1
Fernando Alonso 150-1
Esteban Ocon 150-1
Mick Schumacher 200-1
Lando Norris 200-1
Guanyu Zhou 250-1
Yuki Tsunoda 250-1
Daniel Ricciardo 250-1
Lance Stroll 1000-1
Sebastian Vettel 1000-1
Nicholas Latifi 2000-1
Alexander Albon 2000-1
