It is time for yet another race week as we head over to Japan for the 18th round of the 2022 Formula 1 championship. Will Max Verstappen finally grab a hold of his 2nd title or will Ferrari have a strong race weekend once more? UK bookmaker William Hill has the latest odds!
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 4th, 5:00 A.M. (EST)
The odds, as is to be expected, favour the current reigning champion Max Verstappen with him being priced at 1.57. A change from last week when he was priced at 1.44 for the Singapore GP. Perhaps this is due to recent Red Bull miscalculations and Verstappen’s performance as of late.
Keep in mind that both Red Bull and Verstappen made significant errors in Singapore from fuel miscalculations to race-day lockups costing him a number of places and ultimately a poor race finish.
Given Ferrari’s strong performance at the Singapore GP, the odds on them have improved slightly since last week with Charles Leclerc now priced at 3.75 and Carlos Sainz at 15.00. Can they keep it up at Suzuka?
The Circuit
The Suzuka International Racing Course is a 5.807 km long track featuring 18 corners and only 1 DRS zone. The track itself is characterized with numerous S curves and the all-time popular crossover at turn 15.
The current lap record is held by the 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton from 2019 clocking in at 1.30.983. The most race wins at Suzuka however is a record held by none other than Michael Schumacher (6) with him claiming victory in 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. Other prominent names to win at this track include Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Ayrton Senna and Damon Hill.
What to expect?
Since Singapore proved to be quite an eventful race, there are a couple of points to take away that could prove useful for this weekend’s race. First, Red Bull does make errors. As Singapore has shown, even Max Verstappen can make mistakes. With the pressure building up, it would seem there is still everything to play for and he will have to fight hard if he is to claim his 2nd title.
Secondly, Ferrari and Mercedes are not quite there yet. None of them is currently able to match Red Bull’s straight line speed as was evident when Charles Leclerc was chasing down Checo Perez through the streets of Singapore. With the latest cost cap scandal however, this championship could turn on its head if Red Bull is sanctioned for breaching the regulations and overspending on their car development.
Lastly, Alpine vs. McLaren fight for P4 in the Constructors championship seems to be tilting in McLaren’s favour. With a double engine failure and thus a double DNF finish in Singapore, Alpine seem to be on the back foot. Can they sort out their engine reliability issues and bounce back in the fight? We will have to wait and see!
