Sports » Formula One Betting

Renault F1Formula One is one of the most watched sports in the world, often being in the top 3 for television viewing figures.

Betting on the sport has increased markedly in recent years, with the introduction of betting-in-running allowing punters to bet right until the final lap. Betfair is the best place for this, as in-running prices change in real time so you can get your bets on quickly.

Generally, the bookmakers will have the favourites priced up correctly for the length of the championship, which means the better value is to be had on individual races. For example, some drivers may perform better on tracks with certain characteristics (tight tracks like Monaco, or fast tracks like Spa-Francorchamps for example).

Since the introduction of points finishes upto eighth position, there has been a lot of value in backing certain drivers to finish in the points, as finishing in the top eight is obviously a lot easier than the top six, as many of the back runners have little chance of getting there.

The Formula One season generally runs from March until October, with between 16 and 20 races in the calendar.

Formula One Season 2008 Schedule

  Date Race Name
March 16th Australian Grand Prix
March 23rd Malaysian Grand Prix
April 6th Bahrain Grand Prix
April 27th Spanish Grand Prix
May 11th Turkish Grand Prix
May 25th Monaco Grand Prix
June 8th Canadian Grand Prix
June 22nd French Grand Prix
July 6th British Grand Prix
July 20th German Grand Prix
August 3rd Hungarian Grand Prix
August 24th European Grand Prix
September 7th Belgian Grand Prix
September 14th Italian Grand Prix
October 12th Japanese Grand Prix
October 19th Chinese Grand Prix
November 2nd Brazilian Grand Prix

Formula One Betting Guide

There are lots of markets now available to bet on in Formula One - here's a few of them:

Bookmakers also often price up season long match specials, for example number of British driver victories, number of podium finishes for Lewis Hamilton, etc.

When betting on Formula One, watch out for tight circuits such as Monaco and Hungary, where overtaking is difficult. This means backing drivers away from the front of the grid is risky, but the odds should also reflect this.

Formula One News

Hamilton nails Belgian pole position, with Massa between the other McLaren
After the Ferrari duo had extremely good pace during Friday's practices, BMW's Nick Heidfeld took over the fastest time on Saturday morning, only for Lewis Hamilton to steal the highly coveted pole position here at Spa during the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix. Lining up next to the Brit is Felipe Massa followed by Heikki Kovalainen.
Toyota discuss Free Practice sessions
It was a very busy day for the Japanese team, after both cars having completed nearly 80 laps during both sessions. But since the track featured both wet and dry sections, it hampered progress even further since the cars also had some electrical issues.
Raikkonen fined ?4900
Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen received two fines for speeding in the pitlane of the Spa-Francorchamps circuit during the Friday free practice sessions. The reigning World Champion has to pay ?4900.
Vettel to test for Red Bull at Jerez this month
Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel will be testing for his new team Red Bull Racing later this month at Jerez. Vettel will be in the car for two days during the test at the Spanish circuit from 17-19 September.
Alonso on top during second practice at Spa-Francorchamps
During an eventful second free practice session at the Francorchamps circuit, Renault's Fernando Alonso was on top of the time sheets. The Spaniard was faster than Felipe Massa and Heikki Kovalainen. The session was red-flagged because Giancarlo Fisichella spun on oil from Kimi Raikkonen's F2008. Raikkonen earlier hit the tyre walls and lost his rear wing together with a lot of oil.