Formula One 2019 Russian Grand Prix Odds & Picks

•  Charles Leclerc opened as a +105 favorite to win the 2019 Russian Grand Prix 
• Leclerc has fallen to +175, second to Lewis Hamilton (+105)
• Valtteri Bottas is an intriguing +475 bet to earn his third win of the season

Charles Leclerc will be aiming end Mercedes’ historic domination at the Russian Grand Prix this Sunday (Sep. 29th) when he hits the track as a +175 second-favorite.

The table below lists the updated Russian GP odds as of Thursday.

Odds to Win 2019 Russian Grand Prix

*Odds taken 09/26/19

Leclerc Fading in Russian GP Odds

After opening as an early +105 favorite in the wake of his second-place finish at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, Leclerc has steadily lost ground to Hamilton since in terms of the odds.

However, when it comes to on-track performance, the 21-year-old remains on a roll, reaching the podium in each of his past three outings. That includes earning his first career F1 victories earlier this month with back-to-back wins in Belgium and Italy.

#F1 Here are the drivers standings after the #SingaporeGP with Leclerc and Verstappen both on 200 points. I thought Leclerc had more victories but both have 2. Leclerc however, has more 2nd and 3rd places. #MsportXtra pic.twitter.com/qsHaGr5Ckm

— #MsportXtra © (@MsportXtra) September 22, 2019

Leclerc’s recent success has also lifted him into a tie with Max Verstappen for third place in the Formula One standings going into Sunday morning’s race at Sochi Autodrom. The turnaround comes on the heels of a disappointing first half to the season for both Leclerc and Ferrari teammate Sebastian Vettel.

With a massive 96-point gap still separating him and Hamilton in the F1 Drivers Standings, Leclerc remains a distant +6600 in the odds to win the Drivers’ Championship. Defending champion Hamilton is at a completely unbettable -7000.

Russian Grand Prix Recent Winners

Ferrari on a Roll Following Dismal First Half

Ferrari also badly lags on this season’s F1 Constructors Standings, where they remain stalled in second place, 133 points back of Mercedes, despite Vettel’s impressive victory in Singapore.

Last weekend’s win marks the third straight victory for the Italian powerhouse, and Vettel has been rewarded accordingly on the Russian Grand Prix odds, where he sits third at +250.

🎥 | Sebastian Vettel speaks about the recent upgrades that have allowed Ferrari to take three wins in a row & mentions that the team did not expect the undercut to be so big in Singapore.#RussianGP 🇷🇺 #Seb5 #F1 pic.twitter.com/pDGkx9zBMJ

— #DankeSeb ♡ (@sebvettelnews) September 26, 2019

But the Ferrari duo face a huge challenge in their bid to end Mercedes’ stranglehold on the Russian Grand Prix, which the German team has won in each of the five editions of the race.

Impatient Bottas a Sleeper at Sochi

Hamilton has claimed victory at Sochi on three occasions, including last year, when he outpaced teammate Valtteri Bottas by 2.545 seconds to take home the checkered flag. Bottas has also enjoyed a stellar season, picking up wins at Melbourne and Azerbaijan, and making 11 podium appearances.

https://twitter.com/vhcracer/status/1177220067072720897?s=20

The 30-year-old Finn has also enjoyed steady success at Sochi, finishing on the podium in three of five appearances, including a narrow victory over Vettel in 2017. But he has been frustrated by team orders that have favored Hamilton. Bottas was advised to not undercut Hamilton last weekend at Singapore, and drove under similar orders a year ago at Sochi.

With just a 35-point lead over both Verstappen and Leclerc in the F1 Drivers Standings, No. 77 has emerged as an intriguing +475 bet to earn the win in Sunday’s race

However, reports indicate that Bottas may be tiring of playing second fiddle to Hamilton. And with just a 35-point lead over both Verstappen and Leclerc in the F1 Drivers Standings, No. 77 has emerged as an intriguing +475 bet to earn the win in Sunday’s race.

Verstappen Aims to Build on Steady Run at Singapore

A lengthy +1000 wager to win in Russia, Verstappen will be aiming to build on last weekend’s third-place finish, which marked an impressive rebound after turning in shaky results at both Belgium and Monza.

Starting P4 tomorrow is not good enough and not what we were expecting. We came here to win, which will be difficult, but we will push hard to try #SingaporeGP #KeepPushing pic.twitter.com/h69T1W6wtX

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) September 21, 2019

Verstappen has finished in the top-five in 13 of 15 races, including wins at Austria and Germany, and has turned in fifth-place finishes at Sochi in each of the past two years while starting well back on the grid.

But the 21-year-old has produced steady results in qualifying this season, starting from the front two rows on eight occasions. He is a solid +300 bet to return to the podium this weekend.

2019 Russian Grand Prix Top-Six Finish Odds

Raikkonen Owns Solid Track Record in Russia

Further down the Russian Grand Prix odds, veteran Kimi Raikkonen lags as a lengthy +100000 bet to claim his first win since joining Alfa Romeo Racing this season.

Kimi Raikkonen recovers from “rough start” to 2017 to score first F1 podium since July in Russia https://t.co/Zrqtecdl8F #F1onNBC #RussianGP pic.twitter.com/8sNGxPYImG

— Motorsports on NBC (@MotorsportsNBC) April 30, 2017

The 2007 Formula One champion has failed to finish better than seventh this season, but with a strong track record at Sochi, where he has reached the podium in two of the past three years, Raikkonen is worth consideration as a -150 bet to finish in the top ten, and as an attractive +500 wager to crack the top six.

Picks:

• Bottas to win Russian Grand Prix (+475)
• Verstappen to finish top three (+300)
• Raikkonen to finish top six (+500)