Formula 1: Way-too-early championship favorite confirmed for 2025

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As a lifelong Formula 1 enthusiast who’s been following this sport since the Schumacher era, I must say that the 2025 season is shaping up to be quite an exciting one. Lando Norris’ dominance at Abu Dhabi and his pursuit of a seventh consecutive championship title has me on the edge of my seat.

2024’s Formula 1 season ended triumphantly for McLaren’s Lando Norris as he ruled the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit from beginning to end on Sunday.

In the past six years, the victor of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has also claimed the championship title each year, and the 25-year-old British driver aims to extend this streak to seven consecutive wins following his initial experience with a title fight in 2024.

At the end of the season, Max Verstappen, a four-time world champion driving for Red Bull, finished ahead of Norris in the rankings. Verstappen claimed nine wins throughout the series, which is impressive considering Red Bull could only secure third place overall in the constructor standings. Following him was Norris with four victories.

As expected, Verstappen and Norris are among the favorites to win the 2025 Formula 1 world championship.

At DraftKings Sportsbook, Max Verstappen is currently the top contender for the championship, but his odds are significantly longer than they have been in recent years. In fact, to locate a pre-season favorite with odds similar to Verstappen’s, you would need to look back several years during his title-winning streak.

The 27-year-old Dutchman is listed at +175, just ahead of Norris at +250.

In third place for the year was Charles Leclerc from Ferrari, who equaled his best single-season win tally of three triumphs in 2024, eventually ending up third overall in the championship. Although Ferrari narrowly missed out on McLaren in the constructor rankings due to a late season comeback, they are forecasted to be competitive once more in 2025. Leclerc is currently at +450 odds for next season’s victories.

Right behind him stands his teammate, Lewis Hamilton – a legend who concluded his 12-year collaboration with Mercedes on Sunday. Known for his seven world titles, Hamilton’s odds are currently set at +600.

In simpler terms, among the odds for the next Formula One champion, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has a probability of 10 to 1, slightly higher than Mercedes’ George Russell who stands at 12 to 1. Mercedes’ newcomer Kimi Antonelli is given a longshot chance of 55 to 1.

It’s currently unclear who Red Bull will choose as their second driver for the year 2025, with both Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson being considered at odds of +6500, suggesting a high level of ambiguity.

Full 2025 Formula 1 world championship odds can be found here.

2025’s Formula 1 season kickoff will happen at Albert Park Circuit on March 16th (Sunday) with the Australian Grand Prix. The current race champion, Carlos Sainz Jr., who is taking over from Hamilton at Ferrari, is expected to compete. Meanwhile, Sainz plans to join Williams after Franco Colapinto’s departure, filling in for Logan Sargeant who stepped in during the 2024 season. Sainz has +15000 odds of winning the championship title.

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2024-12-09 14:32