Formula 1 is one of the most popular motorsports, so we decided to tell you more about the online F1 betting in the UK. Some people like to make bets to make the race more exciting, but others are doing it for money. This page should help find a good betting site for F1, regardless if you’re a beginner or an experienced punter.
Due to the boost in the sport’s popularity, there are more and more online bookies that offer odds on F1 races. That’s why it’s becoming harder to pick only one betting site. But, before we introduce you to the best F1 betting sites, we thought that it would be interesting to learn more about the history of this sport.
Top 6 Formula 1 Betting Sites
- Bet365 Review96
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- Best odds for a Grand Prix winner
- Widest range of markets to bet on single F1 race
- Betting available for the whole season
- 96/100Best Choice
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- Up to £30 in Bet Credits
- Visit now
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Bookmaker | Bonus | Features | Grade | Link |
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10Bet Review |
100% up to £50 |
Top odds for the fastest qualifier
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94 |
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New bettors; Code SPORT; Wager deposit & bonus 8x; Max qualifying bet stake=initial bonus; Valid 60 days; Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply; T&C apply; 18+ | ||||
Unibet Review |
Money Back up to £40 + £10 Casino |
Excellent pole position wagers
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91 |
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18+ begambleaware.org. New customers only. Min deposit £10. Money back as bonus if first bet loses. Wagering requirements: all sportsbook 3x at min. odds of 1.40 (2/5), casino 50x. Unless forfeited the sportsbook bonus must be wagered before using the casino bonus. Bonus expires 7 days after opt-in. Full T&C's apply...#AD. |
* T&C’s apply, 18+. Click on Visit now to view the offer!
The bookmakers you should choose to bet on the sport are:
RealDealBet
You’ve all probably heard about the betting exchange RealDealBet, but not many people expected them to have excellent F1 coverage. However, they’ve surprised us not only with that, but also with the inclusion of running promotions for specific races such as money backs, price pushes, and free bets.
New customers can benefit from bigger odds for some of the F1 events, for example, sometimes you’ll see odds such as 12/1 for Hamilton winning a race, even though the real odds are much smaller.
The betting options at RealDealBet are also great – you can choose from fastest lap to the number of drivers that are going to finish the race. All of the betting markets can be found both before and during the race.
10Bet
10Bet is a more international brand when it comes to their sports selection, and that means the F1 coverage there is of very high quality. Not only will you find a lot of betting markets at 10Bet, but they also have high odds for the driver championship, and you can bet on formula 1 even before the last season has finished.
However, the best thing we found at 10bet was the in-play betting console which had a nice interface and great features. Also, 10Bet is one of the few bookmakers that have particular F1 bonuses such as the retirement insurance which means you get your money back if you’ve made a pre-race outright bet and a driver fails to finish.
BetVictor
We think that BetVictor is definitely the best choice for those who are looking for a great Formula One bookmaker. The sport doesn’t have its separate category and is just grouped with other motorsports, but that doesn’t take away from the enormous amount of betting options that they offer their customers.
Another reason why we’ve ranked Betvictor first is the odds that they have. If you want to place a wager on a driver who isn’t a favourite for the race, then you will see many different ways for you to maximise your winnings.
The interface is clean and easy to use, which is always a big positive. Even though BetVictor doesn’t have a lot of specific promotions for Formula 1, you can still take advantage of their £25 free bet for new customers. All you need to do is wager that amount, and it will be given back to you to use again.
Odds in Formula 1
It’s difficult to answer what gambling site offers the best betting odds for Formula One. There are a lot of factors that you need to take into consideration, for example, the driver, the race, and the bet type.
That’s why it’s best to have accounts at more than one bookmaker so that you can take advantage of the best odds when placing a wager. You can also enjoy the various opening bonuses as well.
Another tip that can help you get better odds is to place your wagers as early as possible. Of course, there is always the risk that you won’t be able to consider some factors such as the condition of the track and the weather. Otherwise, you only have to browse different betting sites and compare the odds that they have to offer for the particular bet that you want to make. Bookmaker like Bet365 and BetVictor will offer high odds for almost everything.
Betting Markets in F1
Formula One is a sport that doesn’t have a lot of betting markets, but you certainly can choose between lots of bet types thanks to the in-play betting console. Here are some of our favourites:
Winner of the F1 Championship
The driver who collects the most points during a season is considered the winner of the F1 Drivers Championship. Drivers receive points depending on their final position in the race. So when you make this bet, you are predicting the winner of the Drivers’ Championship. The best odds are before the season starts, but you can also find great odds if you bet on someone who’s not the favourite during the season. Another thing you can place wagers on is the Constructor’s Championship, which is the same thing only instead of drivers you are betting on the teams.
What else can you wager on?
- Match up -With this bet, you can match up drivers against each other in groups ranging from two to six and predict which one of them is going to finish highest.
- Quickest Lap – At the end of each race, we know the name of the driver who did the quickest lap. It’s difficult to predict the outcome here, but if you pay enough attention to the qualifiers, then you have a good chance of winning. The fastest laps usually happen at the end because cars have less fuel left and are lighter.
- Safety Car – This is a straightforward wager – you can bet on ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. You’ve most likely guessed from the name that the bet is related to whether a safety car will appear or not. Many people think that this is luck. But they need to consider things like weather conditions and tight city tracks. The probability of a safety care appearing is higher in some races. So take that into account as well when making your bet.
In-Play Betting in F1
Nowadays, in-play betting has become a popular way for punters to spend their money. Almost every sport has a live betting console, and Formula 1 isn’t an exception. There are a lot of bet types here that are best deployed live during the race, for example, the quickest lap bet. But, it’s very unlikely that you will find a website that offers live streaming of F1 races. But those of you who live in the UK can usually watch the race on Sky.
One of the crucial things that you need to do when placing wagers on F1 is to observe the race, so our recommendation is to find a live stream. If you want to place a bet during the race, then you need to know what’s happening at the moment. This strategy is the same for almost all the sports. So there are no real surprises here.
Strategies for Betting on Formula One
To be honest, if you want to be successful when betting on F1 races, then you need to know some stuff about the sport and keep track of the stats. Even the smallest details can make a difference between winning and losing a race. So it’s crucial to know as much as possible about the drivers and their cars.
First of all, you most likely know by now that the grid position is one of the most important factors when it comes to the final position. There are some tracks where it’s even more vital because they are tight and have low speeds (like Monaco). So the driver with the pole position will win in eight out of ten times. But, when the track is fast, and cars are often driving at high speed, then the grid position has much less influence.
You can go even deeper with your research and look for information about the specifications of the track and which teams will have an advantage racing there. The weather is also a crucial factor, and the tires shouldn’t be underestimated as well. Instead of looking at current form, it would be wiser to see how the driver has performed on this track during his career. For example, if someone has three wins in a row, but hasn’t won at the particular track in his career, then you should have some doubts if you think about betting on him to win.
Another important choice that you need to make is to decide the bet type and figure out which stats are relevant. The race leader will try to keep his lap times consistent, while someone who has a lot of catching up to do will win the fastest lap as well because he has to go all out of the attack.
Facts about F1
The Grand Prix Championships marked the beginning of F1’s history. FIA was formed in 1946, four years earlier than the World Championship. Even though the sport is new when compared to tennis betting and football, some people are considered as F1 legends. For example, Damon Hill, Ayrton Senna, and Michael Schumacher. But, the sport has also had its fair share of scandals and controversy.
Bribery charges
Bernie Ecclestone is most likely the biggest figure in F1. But the entrepreneur had to face corruption charges in 2013 for the sale of F1 in 2005. The case was settled by Ecclestone who had to pay £60m in 2014. It was a widely publicised event which brought a lot of attention to the sport.
The Austrian Grand Prix controversy in 2002
Even though many people like to focus on the individual drivers, F1 is still considered a team sport, which meant there were a lot of strange finishes in its history. Probably the most famous one happened in 2002 during the Austrian Grand Prix.
During the race Rubens Barrichello slowed down for his teammate Michael Schumacher who overtook him and won the race. Barrichello didn’t decide to do that himself. But he followed team orders. After this event, F1 introduced new rules for team orders that would change the outcome of the race.
F1 Race costs
A race in Formula 1 is a very marketable event, so countries have to pay to get the right to host one. For example, the race in Singapore costs $65 million, but it’s not the most expensive one. The events in Abu Dhabi and Malaysia are the ones that cost the most. But, some countries are starting to doubt whether they can make profits from hosting F1 events, so we often see changes in the yearly race calendar.
History of Formula One
The invention of cars led to car races. The first European Championships where held during the 1920’s and 30’s. It would have been earlier if it wasn’t for World War I. The official beginning of F1 was in 1946 when the CSI(Commission Sportive Internationale) introduced the rules for the sport with the help of FIA. Once again, another World War was the factor that delayed this event.
In the beginning, the sport was called Formula A, but that didn’t last long. The first race in 1946 was won by Achille Varzi who was driving an Alfa 158 Alfetta. You’re most likely wondering about the constructors and drivers championships. But they didn’t become a thing until 1950. The championships were to counter the Motorcycle World Championships which were introduced a year before.
During the early years of Formula 1, the Italian cars like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati were the ones who were the most successful. The most famous drivers were Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio, who won the first two championships ever.
The six major European GPs and the Indianapolis 500 were first a part of the champions. But the latter was dropped because European teams weren’t interested in participating. Until the inclusion of Argentina in 1953, the tracks in the championship races were in Europe only.
During the 1950s, the 2.5-litre engine helped Fangio win five championships, which was a record that lasted until Michael Schumacher came on the scene. During that period, British cars like BRM, McLaren, Williams, Lotus, Cooper, and Tyrell started to catch up with the others. The most famous drivers were Sir Sterling Moss and Jack Brabham.
The 60s were a period where Ferrari and Lotus dominated. Moreover, the cars used aluminium monocoque chassis. The next decade we saw the growing popularity of the DFV engine that was only used by Lotus before. There were also a lot of other technological advances that helped improve the sport, even though safety was still a huge concern. The eighties were the period of the turbo engine, with the most famous drivers being Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Nici Lauda, and Nigel Mansel.
The death of Senna in 1994 was the moment that changed F1 forever. Many people consider him to be the best driver of all time.
Ferrari and Michael Schumacher were on top during the following decade. The sport started to focus more on the skills of the drivers rather than the power of the cars. Formula One began to pay attention to the environment as well, and now the engines use harvested electrical energy for the larger amount of power produced. Many features that are available for regular cars were first tested in F1.
Final Verdict
Formula 1 is one of the most exciting racing sports, which translates greats for those of you who enjoy gambling. The sport has come a long way since its beginning at the start of the 20th century, especially when it comes to safety.
The best thing about Formula One is that you never know what’s going to happen during a race. We have seen some exciting things during the years, and there’s always a possibility of a safety car interrupting the race.
The best F1 betting sites will have all of the different options covered, so you don’t have to worry about anything. The websites we listed above are the best ones you can find for F1 betting, and you won’t regret signing up for any one of them. In the end, it’s all a matter of personal preferences.