2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Early Betting Odds and Prediction

The Formula One season has reached its final phase. The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is the 21st and final race of the 2019 Formula One World Championship. The race will be held on December 1, 2019, at the Yas Marina Circuit in the United Arab Emirates.

The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is a 55-lap race covering a distance of 305.355 km around the 5.554 km long Yas Marina Circuit. The $1.32B circuit is designed by German engineer Hermann Tilke and is built on the island of Yas, which is about 30 minutes from Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE. The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was first held in 2009 as the finale of the 2009 Formula One World Championships. The inaugural race was the first-ever night-race in Formula One history.

The first-ever race was won by Sebastian Vettel while the German was still driving for Red Bull Racing. Lewis Hamilton is the winningest driver in the history of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with four victories. Sebastian Vettel is the only other driver to have won the race more than once, taking the checkered flag in Abu Dhabi three times.

Last year, Hamilton won the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, finishing ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen. Hamilton has clinched the 2019 Formula One World championship two races ago, which is the F-1 betting favorite to win the race again this year.

Here are the odds to win the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Odds were taken from TitanBet as of 11/24/19:

Who are the Favorites?

Lewis Hamilton is still the F1 betting favorite to win the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix despite having already clinched the 2019 Formula One Drivers’ title two races ago. Hamilton won eight out of the first 10 races of the season to take control of the Drivers Standings. He has won just two out of the last eight races but remembers that Hamilton won this race last year even if he had already clinched a fifth world title. Hamilton has now won six world titles, one shy of Michael Schumacher’s record. Only two current drivers have won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix more than one time. Hamilton has four wins here while Sebastian Vettel has won three times. Last year, Hamilton beat Vettel and Max Verstappen to win the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Charles Leclerc is currently ranked 4th in the 2019 Drivers Standings. The Ferrari rookie driver from Monaco finished 7th in the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix while racing for Ferrari affiliate Sauber. Leclerc has won two races this season and he is coming off an 18th place finish at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix. The 22-year old Monegasque driver has finished 6th place or better in seven out of his last nine races. Leclerc has nine podium finishes this season.

Max Verstappen is the youngest driver to compete in Formula One. The son of former Formula One driver Jos Verstappen is currently ranked 3rd in the Drivers Standings behind Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. The Red Bull driver is coming off a win at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, his third victory of the season. Verstappen finished third in the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and he has finished in the Top 5 in his last three races at Abu Dhabi. Verstappen has a total of 8 podium finishes this year and he has placed in the Top 5 in sixteen out of the 20 races completed so far.

Sebastian Vettel is a four-time Formula One World Champion. The 32-year old Ferrari ace was supposed to give Lewis Hamilton the biggest challenge this season but he has struggled the entire year with only one victory and is only 5th in the current standings. Vettel has a total of nine podium finishes this season and has placed at least 5th in fifteen out of the 20 completed races. Vettel is coming from a 17th place finish in Brazil and he was the runner-up in this race last season. He has won this race three times, the last of which came in 2013. The German has four Top 4 finishes in his last four appearances in Abu Dhabi.

Valtteri Bottas is Lewis Hamilton’s teammate at Mercedes and was his top rival this season. The 30-year old Finnish driver has won a career-best four races this season and is in 2nd place in the Drivers Standings behind his Mercedes teammate. Bottas has a total fo 15 podium finishes this season and has finished in the Top 5 in 18 out of the 20 completed races this season. Bottas won the 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and was 5th in this race last year. He has finished in the Top 3 in six out of the last 8 races of the season.

Who Wins?

Among the current drivers, only Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen have won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Only Hamilton and Vettel have won the race more than once with Hamilton winning three out of the last five installments of the race. Hamilton is, without doubt, the best driver this season as he has been in recent years but because he has already clinched the Drivers title, some think he may not have as much hunger to win the remaining races.

But remember last season when Hamilton had already clinched a 5th world title in Brazil, he won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to finish strong and set the tone for the next season. With Hamilton chasing Michael Schumacher’s record of seven world titles, there is no doubt he wants to finish strong, especially after how he’s not finished well in the last few races. So yes, Lewis Hamilton is the bet here. I also like Max Verstappen’s chances here. He’s consistently in the Top 5 in this race and came in third last year. Verstappen is currently in third place in the standings trying to hold off Charles Leclerc for that position. If Verstappen finishes third, that will be the best finish of his career. You could say the same for Leclerc but I think Max has more motive to win here.

Early Prediction: Lewis Hamilton, but I won’t mind if you pick Max Verstappen who is my darkhorse pick.

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