2018 US Grand Prix Odds & Preview

The Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, is the site for this weekend’s US Grand Prix, and this is the week that could effectively bring an end to the competition between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel for the title of world champion for 2018. Circuit of the Americas has become one of the fan favorites on the Grand Prix circuit, and Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed it more than just about any driver. He needs to beat Vettel by eight or more points this weekend to take the fifth championship of his driving career. Let’s take a look at your Formula 1 betting preview for this week’s F1 extravaganza.

2018 US Grand Prix Odds & Preview

It could be a title-deciding weekend, don’t miss a single moment… #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/1KOXWyhrtZ

— Formula 1 (@F1) October 18, 2018

Driver Odds to win the 2018 USA Grand Prix 

• Lewis Hamilton                                                                                             8/15
• Sebastian Vettel                                                                                            3/1
• Valtteri Bottas                                                                                               7/1
• Kimi Raikkonen                                                                                             12/1
• Max Verstappen                                                                                            16/1
• Daniel Ricciardo                                                                                           20/1
• Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean                                                         1000/1
• Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez                                                                       1500/1
• Charles Leclerc, Nico Hulkenberg  , Pierre Gasly                                     2000/1
• Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso                                                                  2500/1
• Brendon Hartley, Marcus Ericsson, Lance Stroll, Sergey Sirotkin, Stoffel Vandoorne                                               3000/1

Both Vettel and Hamilton have victories at Circuit of the Americas. However, Hamilton has five titles here, including the last four, while Vettel has won here only once. It is true that Ferrari has won at three different courses that generally go to Mercedes this year — Montreal, Spa and Silverstone — but it’s also true that Mercedes has won in such places as Monza, Sochi and Suzuka, which is why it’s hard to argue against betting on Hamilton here. Looking at the odds, one might well wonder why Hamilton is such a heavy favorite. This is because of the progression of the season. While Hamilton has led throughout, Vettel has seen his deficit grow significantly in the second half of the season, starting during the German Grand Prix, when Vettel held the lead until he had a crash that dealt his fortunes a huge blow. Instead of a victory that would have put him in the points lead for the title, Vettel fell so far behind that it would have taken more than a race win to get him back even. Hamilton has won every race except for one since Germany, and Mercedes’ domination of Ferrari has been so thorough that Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammate, has 10 more points than Vettel over the course of the last seven races, turning a rivalry into a rout. While the driving championship appears to be virtually over, the constructors’ duel between Mercedes and Ferrari will continue after this week. However, if Mercedes can take first and second once again, Mercedes would have a lead of at at least 94 points, a deficit that Ferrari would need a miraculous series of events to overcome. The Circuit of the Americas has a circuit length of 3.43 miles with a total distance of 191.6 miles. Vettel (2017) holds the lap record with a time of 1:37.766. In 2017, Hamilton had pole position, but Vettel started better and led going into the first turn. However, Hamilton took advantage at turn 12 in the sixth lap to take an advantage that he would keep until the very end of the race. That race locked up the constructors’ title for Mercedes. The most well known turn on this course is Turn 1, which features a steep hill up into a tight left-hand turn, and the bottleneck on the course creates drama from the very beginning. Most circuits move in a clockwise direction, but Circuit of the Americas is one that goes the other way, just one of five such circuits on the Formula 1 schedule. The weather in Texas has been extremely rainy lately, and showers are in the forecast for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, although the chances drop significantly on Sunday. The temperatures should be mild as Texas moves into the second month of the fall season.