The Formula 1 new season kicks off on March 2 with the race in Bahrain. The new season marks Lewis Hamilton’s last as a Mercedes driver, as it’s been announced that he’ll be moving to Ferrari in 2025. Ahead of this weekend’s race, bwin looks at the chances the 39-year-old has of becoming world champion this year.
The F1 world was shocked on February 1 when Ferrari officially announced Hamilton’s move to Scuderia in 2025. The Brit was given a multi-year contract by the Italians, using a specific clause to get out of current contract with the German racing team.
Hamilton has been associated with Mercedes since he was just 12 years old. In 1998, he was accepted into McLaren’s support program, which was equipped with Mercedes’ engines and competed in F1 as McLaren-Mercedes from 1995 to 2014. He went through Formula A, British Formula Renault, Formula 3 and the GP2 series before making the jump to F1 in 2007.
With the power of the Mercedes engine, Hamilton finished as runner-up in the McLaren world championship in his first year in the top-flight. Just a year later, the Brit won his first world title in Formula 1. Placements five, four, five and four followed before he joined the Mercedes racing team in 2013, turning his back on McLaren in the process. With the silver star on his chest, Hamilton made himself immortal and won six more world championships. With a total of seven titles to his name, he is the most successful driver in the history of F1, alongside Michael Schumacher.
Odds on Lewis Hamilton winning the 2024 World Championship
After six world titles between 2014 and 2020, Hamilton settled for second, sixth and third places finishes over the last few years, falling to Max Verstappen. Before the start of his latest Mercedes season, the bookies have given the Brit the joint-third best odds (16/1) in the 2024 Drivers Championship. Hamilton is tied with McLaren’s Lando Norris according to the bookies in the race for the world title. As for the top two, it’s Verstappen as the clear and undisputed favourite at 17/100, with the bookies pricing Charles Leclerc as the second-favourite at 10/1.
If not this year, Hamilton will be eyeing up glory with Ferrari next year. Should he win the World Championship in 2025, Hamilton will become the the sole record holder for world title wins, as well as only the second driver to win the title with both Mercedes and Ferrari after Juan Manuel Fangio, who did it in 1954, 1955 and 1956.
GP Bahrain race winner odds
We’ve covered the outright world title odds for this season, but the forthcoming campaign kicks off in Bahrain this weekend. bwin takes you through the odds for the race in Bahrain this weekend, with Verstappen still the bookies favourite to walk away with the win.
- Max Verstappen – 33/100
- Charles Leclerc – 8/1
- Sergio Perez – 12/1
- Lewis Hamilton – 12/1
- George Russell – 14/1
- Carlos Sainz Jr – 16/1
Just as he is in the outright betting odds, Hamilton is joint-third favourite to emerge victorious in Bahrain this weekend, with odds of 12/1 alongside Sergio Perez of Red Bull.
View the latest Formula 1 odds
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.
