F1 is back for the third race of the 2023 season in Australia, as Max Verstappen continues his bid to become a world champion for the third consecutive season in his Red Bull car.
The Dutch driver has had a fantastic start to the season winning the opening race in Bahrain before coming from 15th in the grid to finish second last time out in Saudi Arabia, behind teammate Sergio Perez.
We’ll take a look ahead to the first race and see if we can provide you with some extra cash for the season with our best free F1 betting picks.
| F1: Australian Grand Prix |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max Verstappen | -265 | -300 | -284 |
| Sergio Perez | +550 | +400 | +430 |
| Fernando Alonso | +1100 | +900 | +830 |
| Charles Leclerc | +2000 | +1600 | +1900 |
| Carlos Sainz | +2500 | +3300 | +4000 |
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Below you’ll find a list of the drivers favored to win in Australia.
If anyone has doubted the Verstappen is the best in the world right now, they haven’t been watching him for the last two years. The Red Bull star claimed 18 podium finishes in the last 21 races, showing his true dominance on the track as the two-time world champion.
Verstappen came into this season with a big target on his back after such a dominant 2022 season, but he responded to it with ease by taking pole position in the opening race at Bahrain and leading the Grand Prix the whole way to claim victory, before battling from 15th claim the runners-up spot in Saudi Arabia.
Last year in Melbourne he started in second on the grid but was forced to retire on the 38th lap due to a fuel leak. He’ll be hoping to avoid a repeat of that this year, and with the Red Bull cars so much faster than everyone else he has a great chance if he can avoid any issues.
He’s got the best car, is the best driver, and has shown countless times that he can overcome adversity. The value isn’t the best but it’s by far the most likely outcome, so Verstappen is our F1 betting pick for the race.
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Sergio Perez was the teammate of the world champion last year, and that’s about as far as his contribution went across the campaign.
He claimed two race wins over the season and finished third in the Drivers’ Championship, but showed his quality and talent whenever Verstappen and Red Bull needed him to step up.
This season he started well, claiming a runners-up place behind Verstappen in the opening race in Bahrain to secure a Red Bull 1-2 before swapping with his teammate to win in Saudi Arabia after leading the whole way.
Last year in Australia he claimed a runners-up spot behind Charles Leclerc after initially starting in third, but was a full 20 seconds behind the leader at the end of the race.
Right now the title race is between the two Red Bull cars, but Perez’s best chance is always if Verstappen has an issues or makes a big mistake. Another one-two shouldn’t be written off, but Perez coming first again is unlikely while Max is racing too.
The former two-time world champion’s move to Aston Martin was seen as a way to make him competitive again in the title race, and he has had a solid start to this season.
Alonso started fifth in that race behind the Red Bull and Ferrari duos, showing his pace throughout qualifying and that carried over into the race where he kept up before eventually moving past both Ferrari’s late on and claim a podium finish. Then in Saudi Arabia he took another podium, although he dropped a place after earning a front-row spot in qualifying.
His past in Australia isn’t the greatest, having finished dead last in 2022 with his Alpine-Renault car. He did however claim the win here back in 2006, and knows the track well enough to cause problems.
Unfortunately for him, his Aston Martin car just can’t compete with Red Bull’s two demons and he’ll likely have to settle for a third consecutive third place finish at best, but even that seems like a push considering Ferrari’s history here.
2022 seemed like a missed opportunity for Ferrari, but 2023 has started pretty poorly too considering the expectations pre-season.
Leclerc has had big issues with his car this season and picked up a massive ten-place grid penalty last time out in Saudi Arabia, which meant he only managed to finish in 7th to add to his DNF in the opening race in Bahrain.
Last year however was a crowning moment for Leclerc as he led the grand prix from start to finish to claim a huge win in Melbourne and opened up a big gap over Verstappen which had many people having him as a real contender for the title.
Obviously that didn’t happen in the end, and he’s yet to get going this season, so a repeat of that result would be a huge shock.
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About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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