LEWIS HAMILTON is the comfortable bookies’ favourite to win the 2020 Formula 1 season with Max Verstappen named as his closest rival.
After coming out impressively from pre-season testing to begin their pursuit of a seventh Constructors’ title, Mercedes are tipped to carry the reigning champion all the way once again.
Betfair have made Hamilton the 8/15 favourite for the Drivers’ Championship, ahead of Red Bull’s Verstappen at 11/2.
And although the Mercs are once again the team to beat, Valtteri Bottas is back as the fourth-favourite for the individual crown at 8/1 with Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc at 6/1.
Having finished outside the top-four for the first time in five years in 2019, Sebastian Vettel can only muster odds of 10/1 for glory this time around.
Even more conclusive is the Constructors’ Championship, where Mercedes are 1/4 favourites.
Ferrari and Red Bull are considered neck and neck to challenge the German marque, at 9/2, before a massive gap back to 150/1-rated McLaren.
The 2020 season gets underway in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix on March 15 , which is followed a week later by the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The betting picture for Australia is far from straightforward given the unpredictability of applying testing results to an actual race, and the unique nature of the street circuit.
Bottas convincingly claimed the season-opening win in 2019 and is 7/2 to match his feat, behind favourite Hamilton at 11/10.
However the Brit has won just one of his last 11 races around Melbourne, with two career victories overall.
Fellow 7/2-rated driver Verstappen is yet to finish higher than third at the venue with Vettel, who has the most wins down under of any racer currently on the grid, a 7/1 bet.
Lewis Hamilton test drives the new Mercedes F1 car in Barcelona
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
