2018 Japanese Grand Prix Odds & Preview

The Formula 1 circuit moves to Japan this week, as the Suzuka track will greet drivers this weekend. Designed for speed, this is one of the most challenging tracks in all of Formula 1. Lewis Hamilton enters this week ahead of Sebastian Vettel by a whopping 50 points now, after winning his third straight race while Vettel had to settle for third in Sochi, finishing behind Valtteri Bottas as well. The track at Suzuka definitely will push the drivers this week. Take a look at our Formula 1 odds preview for the latest twists and turns for the 2018 Japanese Grand Prix.

2018 Japanese Grand Prix Odds & Preview

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2018 Japanese Grand Prix Odds

• Lewis Hamilton                                                                                             17/20
• Sebastian Vettel                                                                                            23/10
• Valtteri Bottas                                                                                               9/1
• Kimi Raikkonen                                                                                             12/1
• Max Verstappen                                                                                            18/1
• Daniel Ricciardo                                                                                           20/1
• Esteban Ocon, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez      1000/1
• Charles Leclerc                                                                                             1500/1
• Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Pierre Gasly                                   2000/1
• Brendon Hartley, Marcus Ericsson                                                2500/1
• Stoffel Vandoorne                                                                                        4000/1
• Lance Stroll, Sergey Sirotkin                                                                      5000/1

  Mercedes as a team has won the last four Japanese Grand Prix, so it is easy to understand why Lewis Hamilton is such a strong favorite, in addition to his form this year. Ferrari does have seven wins on this course, but none since 2004, when Michael Schumacher ended up the winner. Since then, Mercedes has their four, but Red Bull, Renault and McLaren have all picked up victories as well. The hero for Red Bull in their wins (four in total) was Vettel, who now drives for Ferrari. However, he has not won here since 2013, and Hamilton has three titles himself in the last four years. Red Bull comes in with an RB14 engine that lacks the power to challenge Ferrari or Mercedes. However, their chassis outperforms either of those two rivals, and Max Verstappen should be driving with confidence after his solid performance in the Russian Grand Prix. If Renault switches back to the Spec C engine, that could make both Verstappen and Ricciardo much more competitive than they will be sticking with what they have now.

What about the course?

Suzuka has been part of the Grand Prix circuit since 1987, making it one of the newer race courses. In that year, Nigel Mansell crashed in qualifying that allowed Nelson Piquet, Mansell’s rival, to take the checkered flag. The course features curves that snake and a couple of Degners that provide challenges as well. Because Suzuka requires so much in terms of energy loadings, tires tend to wear faster here than on some other courses. It is also a figure-eight course, which means that the wear is about the same on both sides of the car. With softer tires in play this year, it will be interesting to see if drivers go for one or two pit stops. In 2017, stopping just once really paid off, but in prior years, two stops have been the norm. From a sports betting perspective, it’s hard to argue against Hamilton. The Mercedes looks to be the better car this year, and Hamilton has kept Vettel in his rear view mirror for the vast majority of the season. While the challenges of the Suzuka course will demand the most of all of the drivers, there have been few tests that Hamilton has failed this season. So even though there isn’t a lot of value in taking that sort of favorite, if you want to bet on this, he’s the way to go. He’s far and away the most popular choice amongst F1 bettors so far, pushing those odds down even further. There are driving events that seem to favor looking for a dark horse, but it’s hard to argue for that here.