Lewis Hamilton won two of the last four editions of the Mexican GP, but this week the winner of the other two, Max Verstappen, is the heavy odds favorite at PointsBet Sportsbook to win this year’s running on Sunday. Verstappen was the winner in 2017 and 2018.
In his most recent attempt in 2019, Verstappen finished sixth, more than one minute off Hamilton’s pace. But it is Verstappen that currently holds the advantage in the Drivers Championship by 12 points over his Mercedes rival, which is part of what contributes to his -185 line at PointsBet. Verstappen was quickest in Friday’s second practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Nearly 500 points higher than Verstappen, Hamilton is ranked second this week with a line of +275. Hamilton was second fastest on Friday in Practice 1 and third-best in Practice 2 after being pressured by Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez. Hamilton won the most recent Mexican GP in 2019. The 2020 edition of this race was canceled because of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
One way to view American Odds is to move the decimal point two positions to the left. That will let a bettor know what they will make on a $1 bet, so the return on investment this week for Hamilton is $2.75. For bettors more comfortable with fractional odds, a bet of +300 is the same as 3/1.
The last four F1 races have each been won by a different driver with Daniel Ricciardo stepping up at Monza after Verstappen and Hamilton crashed. Two races ago in Turkey, Valtteri Bottas beat Verstappen and Perez.
Still, there is a big drop off to the third ranked driver. Perez is listed at +1100 after standing on the podium in the last two races. Perez will compete in front of his countrymen this week, but his weekend got off to a bad start after crashing early in Practice 1 on Friday.
Bottas, who was fastest in the first practice session and who beat teammate Hamilton in both sessions, is ranked fourth with a line of +2000. Bottas’ win in Turkey was the culmination of four consecutive top-fives in the series. He finished sixth last week at the Circuit of the Americas. Bottas was third in the 2019 Mexican GP.
Rounding out the top five this week is Charles Leclerc, who also spun in the final turn in Practice 1 and damaged his week. Leclerc is listed at +3500. He has four top-fives in his last five starts, but failed to reach the podium with a best of fourth.
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