Formula 1 2024 season predictions, F1 betting tips and Drivers' Championship odds: Russell set for a bounceback year

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When does the 2024 Formula 1 season start?

The 2024 Formula 1 season starts with the Bahrain Grand Prix. The first race of the season takes place on Saturday, March 2.

Where can I watch the 2024 Formula 1 season?

All sessions live on Sky Sports F1

Best bets for the 2024 Formula 1 season

George Russell to win the Drivers' Championship without Max Verstappen
1pt 14-1 bet365

Yuki Tsunoda to beat Daniel Ricciardo in drivers' matchbet
2pts 6-5 bet365

Carlos Sainz to beat Fernando Alonso in drivers' matchbet
2pts 6-5 bet365

New customers can click here to get £30 in free bets when they place a £10 bet with Paddy Power

Formula 1 2024 season predictions

How do you follow up a record-breaking season?

Max Verstappen will be hoping to extend his dominance and write more Formula 1 history after winning an unprecedented 19 of last season's 22 races, even though the law of averages suggests that such a phenomenal year will be followed by something less extraordinary.

Pre-season testing is limited to just three days but the evidence suggests the Dutch destroyer and his Red Bull team again have the advantage.

But unlike the last two years, their expected rivals Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren also had plenty to smile about after putting their new cars through their paces.

F1 Drivers' Championship predictions

Having collected more than double the points of his nearest competitor last season, it seems virtually impossible that Verstappen could be overhauled given that there have been no significant rule changes.

Therefore, betting without the favourite makes a lot more appeal than taking on the market-leader in the outright betting.

As is often the case, Ferrari enjoyed a strong pre-season, but when looking at the lap times it is worth bearing in mind the Scuderia did a lot more work on the softer, faster tyres than other teams. 

Charles Leclerc, the 2022 championship runner-up, endured plenty of bad luck last season but ended the year with second-place finishes in Vegas and Abu Dhabi.

A very strong year is a possibility but enough juice has gone out of his price to make him worth passing over.

Likewise, Verstappen's teammate Perez is an obvious candidate to push the Dutchman hardest, but his run to second in the standings last year was by no means straightforward despite the superiority of his machine.

One who looks interesting at a bigger price is Mercedes driver George Russell.

His teammate Lewis Hamilton was a strong contender to finish second in the championship deep into last season, and Russell outscored the seven-time world champion in their first year together at Mercedes in 2022.

Things just wouldn't go right for the King's Lynn racer last season, as the only smooth weekends Russell seemed to have came when the car was at its least competitive.

Russell led the early stages in Australia before a red flag ruined his strategy and then his engine blew up anyway. Later in the season he seemed to be on a victory charge in Singapore before he clipped a wall on the last lap, while in Qatar he was taken out at the first corner by Hamilton before scything through the field from the back to finish fourth.

Russell ended the season eighth in the standings, 59 points behind Hamilton but he was much more of a match for the F1 legend than that suggests and he could be set for a bounceback year.

It is also worth remembering that with Hamilton leaving the team to join Ferrari at the end of the year, Russell is likely to be given preference when it comes to developing the car.

More 2024 Formula 1 season predictions and best bets

The only team starting the campaign with a different driver line-up from this time last year have also changed their name during the winter.

RB - formerly AlphaTauri - ditched Nyck De Vries midseason to replace him with Daniel Ricciardo and the Australian stays with the team this year.

Ricciardo, an eight-time Grand Prix winner, missed five races through injury which may be seen as an excuse for his inability to match team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in the final part of last season.

But the Japanese racer seemed to take a step forward last year, collecting three points-finishes in the last five races compared to Ricciardo's one.

Tsunoda also started the year with five straight top-11 finishes. The team will enjoy a closer relationship to their parent outfit Red Bull this year so they will expect to fight for points more regularly and Tsunoda looks overpriced to pick up the lion's share of those.

Another matchbet worth considering is Ferrari's Carlos Sainz to outscore Fernando Alonso.

Sainz, the only non-Red Bull Grand Prix winner last year courtesy of his Singapore triumph, ended the season six points shy of Alonso's total.

But the Spaniard had made hay with the Aston Martin team early in the season when Ferrari struggled for consistency and Mercedes and McLaren simply struggled.

Aston Martin should be regularly in the mix for points, but it will be a surprise if two-time world champion Alonso can repeat last year's early heroics with the more established teams apparently going into the season in much better shape than last year.

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Paddy power betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of this Paddy Power betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

• The qualifying bet should be a £10 single bet featuring odds of at least Evs (2.0)
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• New customers only
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• Best odds guaranteed does not apply to bets placed with a free bet, or partial free bet
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