How Does Formula 1 Betting Work Online?

Outside of the United States, the Formula 1 circuit is the most important area of motorsport. It’s popular in the US too, even if many will focus their attention on NASCAR and IndyCar.

Wherever your own allegiances lie, you’ll find a wide choice of Formula 1 betting options on Unibet. If you’ve yet to get involved, please read on.

We need to start with the basics. F1 betting revolves around odds and those odds are crucial to all types of bets. We need to ask ourselves:

1. What are Formula 1 odds and what do they mean?
2. What Formula 1 bets can I place online?

What are Formula 1 odds and what do they mean?

Odds tell us two distinct things:

1. The probability of an event happening such as a driver winning a race
2. How much we will be paid if our bet wins

Here’s a Formula 1 betting option from the 2022 season.

This is the race winner bet from the Spanish Grand Prix. At the top of the list is Max Verstappen. The 2021 Drivers’ Champion has odds of +100.

Those odds are lower than anyone else in the field. This means that Max Verstappen is the favorite while we could class the other drivers as underdogs.

There we have probability in action. According to the betting for the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix, Max Verstappen has the best chance of winning.

But what about payouts? This is the second question that we needed to answer. The information is shown by the specific numbers.

At odds of +100 a bet of $100 on Max Verstappen would pay $100 if he wins the race. Behind him, Charles Leclerc is available at +140. A bet of $100 here would pay $140 if it’s successful.

Odds can also be expressed with a minus symbol in front of them. Here’s what we mean.

This is a separate F1 bet known as Podium Finish. It will pay if your chosen driver finishes in the Top Three. As you can see, the top three drivers have minus odds for the ‘yes’ bet.

For Charles Leclerc, a bet of $335 will win $100. With Max Verstappen, a stake of $286 would win $100 if successful. Those are the calculations behind odds with a minus prefix.

Formula 1 public betting

Everyone has an opinion. Anyone who has a passing interest in sport will also be very quick to offer that opinion to others. Favorites and underdogs will be initially determined by the betting public.

As F1 races appear and betting options are published, bets will come in. The betting community gets behind the stronger drivers and a pattern emerges. Our odds setters will then step in and confirm the final numbers.

If you’ve yet to hear the phrase ‘betting with the public’, it means that you are betting on the favorite. If you are betting against the public, you are choosing an underdog.

We’ll offer some advice on making a decision later. For now, it’s time to look at your available Formula 1 bets.

What Formula 1 Betting Options do I have?

We’ve shown you the race winner bet. It’s a popular option and it will appear for every Grand Prix. Look at the drivers in contention and decide who you think will win.

Race winner betting is a good starting point for new bettors but there are alternatives. We’ve also seen the Podium Finish bet which will pay if your driver finishes inside the top three.

Moving on there are many others:

#1: Formula 1 Match Up Betting

Several sports have match up bets: Here, we put two competitors up against each other and ask who will perform better. Here’s an example from the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix.

With this bet, you will stake on either Lewis Hamilton or George Russell. Whichever of these two Mercedes Drivers finishes higher in the race will trigger a payout.

This is just one example: There will be many others for each race in the F1 season.

#2: Performance Betting in Formula 1

All Formula 1 race betting has a section for Performance betting. The F1 bets here will include:

Podium Finish

We’ve already seen this one. If your chosen driver finishes inside the top three, he gets to stand on the podium and spray the champagne. Not only that, any bets placed on him will pay out.

Both team drivers on podium

This bet will list the strongest teams in Formula 1. If both drivers from that team finish inside the top two, winning bets will pay out.

The above image is another example from the 2022 Monaco GP.`

Driver to be classified

If a driver finishes more than 90% of the race, they are considered to be classified. They are given a finishing position and any points will be allocated.

Formula 1 betting is available for a driver to be classified in the specific Grand Prix. Two options will appear - yes or no. Pick your driver and make your choice.

Both team drivers to be classified


It’s also possible to bet on both team drivers to be classified. More teams will be listed in this section so you can expect to see Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, McLaren. Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo and more.

#3: Race specials bets in F1 betting

Unibet’s list of special Formula 1 bets will include.

Safety car once:

Will we see the safety car at least once in the race?

Safety car at least twice:

The safety car needs to come out at least twice for this to pay out. Note that the virtual safety car doesn’t count.

Total number of drivers to be classified; You can bet on how many drivers will receive a classification. A set of different lines will be published, usually starting at 14.5. Pick a line and decide whether to bet Over or Under.

#4: Formula 1 Futures Betting

Throughout every Formula 1 year, the competitors are aiming to win two trophies.

• Drivers’ Championship
• Constructors’ Championship

Bets for each of these two titles will appear before the season starts. When the campaign begins, they will switch to our live F1 bets and stay there until winners are decided.

These are known as Futures bets. They are long term bets which are decided across the course of an F1 season.

#5: Parlays in Formula 1 Betting

A Parlay is a simple piece of betting jargon. If you’re not already familiar, it refers to a multiple bet with at least two selections. That multiple can be combined from within one Grand Prix. Alternatively, you can bet on two races or two separate events.

Here’s an example of a parlay from within the same race:

This is from the 2022 Monaco Grand Prix. We’re betting on Max Verstappen to win the race plus George Russell to earn a podium finish.

As we add picks to our F1 parlay, the odds will update. When a stake is typed into the box, our potential outlay appears. The parlay bet is now ready, and the Place Bet button turns yellow, If you’re happy, click on that button and the bet rides.

Now here’s an example of a Parlay across two separate events in the Formula 1 season:

This is a 2-leg parlay using the two main Formula 1 futures bets. Once again, odds update when you add selections. Type in a stake and the potential payout will appear.

The important point with a Parlay is that all those picks need to win. The odds look great and when a parlay lands, the payouts can be higher. Just remember that the exposure is increased too. If one or more bets fail to win, the entire bet is lost.

Tips And Strategies for Formula 1 Betting

Unibet has been involved with sports betting since 1997. We accumulated a heck of a lot of knowledge in that time, but we don’t want to keep it all to ourselves.

Here are some tips for your Formula 1 betting journey. We can’t guarantee you any winners but there’s some important advice in here.

#Tip 1: Probability and the Public

Remember the public’s role in picking a favorite? They may not always be right but they are working with probability and that’s important when it comes to betting on Formula 1 races. According to the betting community, the favorite is the driver most likely to win the race.

Probability and public perception can also be seen in every F1 bet that we’ve mentioned. You could just blindly follow the public and bet on the favorite each time. Maybe that strategy would be successful.

But favorites won’t always win. Wouldn’t sport be tedious if that happened? Is this the time for the underdog to come through?

Only you can make the final decision so let’s help you come to a conclusion.

#Tip 2: The Value of Effective Research

Your own analysis and assessment is a powerful tool when it comes to F1 betting. By looking at certain key stats, you can establish your Formula 1 betting strategy.

Start by looking at current form. If this is the first race of a new season then the result may be tougher to predict. As the campaign develops, the stronger cars and drivers move to the top.

Shocks can be rare in F1 and those effective teams tend to remain competitive across the season.

Another key factor lies in previous records in specific Grand Prix. A driver who performs well on the streets circuits of Monaco might not be as competitive on traditional Formula 1 circuits. When you’re out in front in Monaco, it can be difficult for the other drivers to overtake. It’s kind of like those times when you’re stuck behind the school bus on your way to work.

All of those stats are easy to find. Unibet offer a list of results and many F1 reference sites are there to fill in any blanks. Crunch those numbers and they can be useful.

#Tip 3: Make use of Unibet’s Offers and Promotions for Formula 1 Betting!

We are aware that our odds have to be competitive in such a crowded sector. You have lots of choices for your Formula 1 betting and we are very happy that you’re here. We will maintain those excellent odds but there are ways of finding extra value.

Unibet list offers and promotions, starting with a welcome bonus. Moving forward, free bets and price boosts may be among our other deals. Make sure you don’t miss out by opting in for notifications or checking the promotions tab of our website.