What are the ins and outs of
betting on F1?
- Back your favorite teams and drivers
- Pick from several bet variations
- Claim F1-friendly promotions
- Live-stream races in real-time
- Some bookmakers are better than others
Whether you’re a die-hard Williams backer or mad for McLaren, the steps you’ll need to follow to drop a bet at an upcoming race are near-enough identical. More often than not, you’ll even be able to get your driving gloves on an F1 betting bonus good for:
- Free bets, or;
- “Bet insurance” on losses.
So, engines at the ready… Here’s how it all works:
| What to do | How to do it |
| Step 1 | Find a fast and furious bookmaker. | Throughout this guide, you’ll see lists and banners for betting sites that are legal and licensed in your province. Browse them – and pick one. |
| Step 2 | Sign up for an account and claim an F1-friendly bonus. | The best bookies offer bonuses that’ll put you in a better place on the starting grid. Sign up and claim simply by:
– Hitting “Register”.
– Making a first-time deposit.
– Claiming your free F1 bets. |
| Step 3 | Make your bet selections, and fasten your seatbelts… | Here’s the tricky bit. Pick your team or driver, decide which kind of bets you’re gonna drop (more on this in the next section), then it’s pedal to the medal… |
What kinds of bets do most
F1 betting sites
accept?
Here’s the thing – while the process of actually placing a bet on Formula 1 is about as easy as finding first gear, there’s a lot to master in terms of betting options and variations if you really want to rev things up.
In my own experiences, I’ve found that most F1-friendly betting sites serve-up the following betting options:
Futures
Betting on futures just means picking out a potential winner you’ve got a good inkling for. Think, for example:
- Backing an F1 team to win.
- Supporting an individual driver to win.
F1 betting
props
Now, I’m talking about one of the fastest sports on the planet here, so I’m sure it won’t surprise you to hear that nine times out of ten, F1 betting props are all about speed. For example, the bookies in my banners will let you drop bets on:
- Which driver will hit the fastest lap.
- How many seconds somebody will win by.
- First to hit 10 laps.
- And so on…
But F1 props often push things even further. Miles further, in fact. I’ve seen sites offering odds on anything from how many pit stops Lewis Hamilton might make, to whether the safety car will show-up or not. The fact of the matter is, F1 betting in Canada is a crazy-diverse market. So, I’d suggest having as much fun with some of these niche bets as you can.
F1 parlay bets
I’ve found that parlays are offered by both
Canada’s high stakes betting websites
and sites that are more specifically aimed at F1 noobs. Even though these kinds of bets – which involve multiple legs – can get complicated fast, when you strip parlays to their bare bones, they’re easy enough to understand so long as you know what you want to bet on, and where, right?
And let’s face it, having a few multi-bets down on Fernando Alonso to secure pole position, the winning margin to exceed 20 seconds and the safety car to appear by lap 50 can be a lot more fun than simply betting on a driver to win or place. So yeah… eat your hearts out if you think you can handle the heat.
Driver matchup
F1 betting
For me, driver matchups are great among friends. Why am I of this opinion? Well, a driver matchup bet allows you to enjoy a flutter on which of two drivers (or teams) will come first in a head-to-head bet – which can be a great way to settle a bar argument between F1 buddies, eh?
Let’s face it, these kinds of bets don’t really work when it comes to
NFL betting
or other team-based sports, but I reckon they’re a real treat with F1. Even more so if the betting brand you’ve registered with offers:
- In-play bets.
- Last-minute odds boosts.
- The ability to live-stream races.
If you’re thinking all this sounds dandy, but are still stuck wondering where to bet on Formula 1 legally from your province, I wouldn’t blame you – iGaming rules in Canada aren’t exactly plain-sailing, after all.
But ultimately, in most parts of Canada, you can legally bet on Formula 1 online so long as your bookmaker offers a license from your provincial regulator. Though I’d also advise looking out for the following:
- A good rating on TrustPilot.
- SSL encryption and 2FA.
- Responsible gambling tools and resources.
And of course, any F1, NHL or even
esports betting sites
you see mentioned on the banners anywhere on my site are legally available where you live. I’ve got some pretty tight geo-targeting working behind the scenes here, so I can totally guarantee it.
But how do you decide which is right for you? Well, you’ll need to think about:
- Whether a site’s odds are competitive.
- What F1 bonuses are up-for-grabs.
- What other sports markets are available.
Oh, and obviously, you’ll also need to have a sound betting strategy in mind to take best advantage of all that your favorite site has to offer…
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Which
F1 betting
strategies are best?
There are plenty of things we can all do to gear ourselves up for placing smarter bets on Formula 1. A few tips I like to share with my F1 buddies, include:
In my time, I’ve found that F1 betting sites come in a lot of shapes and sizes, which means you might encounter a mix of:
- American odds
- Fractional odds
- Decimal odds
To be honest with you, most sites I’ve seen tend to expect you to bet on Formula 1 using American odds, so expect to see a lot of “+” and “-“ symbols. How do these work? Well, a “+” will tell you how much a $100 bet could potentially return – for example, +1500 could equal $1,500 on a $100 stake. Meanwhile, a “-“ will tell you what stake is required to potentially secure $100 on an accurate prediction.
Study team and driver trends
For those of you who’ve been F1 betting for a while already, this one will go without saying, but yeah… the better you know the market, the better-prepared you’ll be for betting.
Now, you don’t need to go insanely analytical, pinning up pie charts on your bedroom wall, or putting up Max Verstappen shrines or anything, but you do need to be in-the-know. A good way to do this is by:
- Following F1 news and blogs (think BBC Sport).
- Streaming F1 podcasts, like “Engine Braking”.
- Listening to pundit commentaries.
- Pinning up pie charts.
F1 cars might whizz around the circuit at 200+ mph, but you guys need to try and chill a bit when placing your bets, yeah?
It’s easy to get carried away when you bet on Formula 1, but ultimately, weighing up things like odds and driver performances, then placing strategic and well-thought-out bets slowly is usually a better strategy than a pedal-to-the-medal approach.
Above all else, we bet to have fun, right? So, enjoy the race, take pride in trying to second-guess winners, losers and safety car appearances, and remember that the best betting sites have self-limitation tools and responsible gambling resources only one click away if ever you need them.
The fastest F1 cars can do zero to 60 mph in less than three seconds, but I’m sorry to say it’s going to take you a bit longer than that to master Formula 1 betting.
The good news? I’ve done all that I can here to set you up for a good spot on the starting grid, by sharing my tips on how to enjoy betting on F1 to the max, and which legal betting sites are most worth a look in your province. From here, it’s on you, and I well and truly wish you guys the best. Just be sure to keep in mind, that:
- Any sites you bet with must be licensed.
- Understanding bet types and odds is vital.
- Enjoying yourselves should always be top-priority.
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F1 betting
FAQ
For me, betting on Formula 1 is phenomenal fun. There are a ton of different bet types to choose from, a whole host of top-quality bookmakers on the market and you might even manage to get the chance to claim an F1-specific bonus to boot. Find out how to get more out of F1 betting here.
🤔 Can I claim a free bet bonus that’s valid on F1?
Why of course you can. Most bookmakers out there will let you use their welcome bonuses on pretty much any sports market you please – though this isn’t always the case and combing through the T&Cs is always a must. Read my guide on how to enjoy sportsbook bonuses to the max today.
🥇 How does a “driver matchup” bet on F1 work?
Basically, you’ll be putting down a toe-to-toe bet on something like, say, whether Leclerc or Verstappen will come first. Check out my expert betting guides for the process in full…
