• What: 2026 Australian Grand Prix
• Where: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia
• When: Sunday, March 7 at 11 p.m. ET
• How to watch: Apple TV
After quite the offseason which had people counting down the days for some new races to arrive, the wait is over. That’s right, the Australian Grand Prix is here and people have been looking forward to this event in Melbourne for quite some time. With that said, George Russell is the favorite to win the 2026 Australian Grand Prix and there are plenty of people who think he’s going to come out on top.
Time and time again, Russell has reminded everyone that he’s one of the best drivers on the planet and he’s of course no stranger to recording some brilliant wins. Because of that, he’s also going to want to start off the new season with a bang and set the tone for the rest of the campaign. Will he be able to do so, or will someone get in the way of him celebrating in style?
| Australian Grand Prix odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russell to win | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Verstappen to win | +300 | +300 | +300 |
| Leclerc to win | +450 | +450 | +450 |
| Hamilton to win | +600 | +600 | +600 |
“It doesn’t change anything,” Russell said on being the favorite this weekend. “I think there’s a lot of chat around us and Mercedes. And take it as a compliment, I guess,” said Russell ahead of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. “You know, once the helmet’s on, you’re just flat out, and you don’t really think about any of this additional noise. So just taking it race by race and see how we go.
According to the best online sports betting sites, Russell has been given +200 Vegas Formula 1 betting odds to win the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. This tells us that the Vegas oddsmakers seem to think he’s going to have a great chance of pulling things off. It will be interesting to see how things go down here. While we won’t be shocked if Russell wins, we’re going in a different direction for our pick.
While there’s understandably a ton of attention on Russell leading up to things in Melbourne, we’re throwing a bit of a curveball your way in saying that Max Verstappen is our pick to win the Australian Grand Prix this year. It should be no surprise that were high on Verstappen too, as he’s also one of the top performers in the Formula 1 circuit. He’s also going to want to start off the new season with in electric fashion.
“It will be great to be back on track and start up the season,” Verstappen said leading up to this race. “It has felt like a long buildup to this point, and it is exciting to finally get out racing again. In Bahrain, seeing the car with our own power unit getting in so many laps was very impressive; there were a lot of proud faces seeing it go out for the first time, and the Team have done a great job.”
With the new Formula 1 season here too, are you interested in potentially getting in on the betting action? If that’s the case, now is a good time for us to remind you that the top-rated Las Vegas sportsbooks that we work with offer up some pretty fantastic bonus codes and specials for you to take a look at. We recommend checking them out with the Australian Grand Prix right around the corner.
Back to the action, the oddsmakers have given Verstappen +300 Las Vegas odds to pull off a win and take down the rest of the field. That of course is not going to be an easy task, especially with Russell being listed as the favorite leading up to things. Despite that, something tells us that Verstappen will find a way to win in thrilling fashion. We’re indeed rocking with him to come out on top.
Yes, many people think this is going to come down to either Russell or Verstappen, but Charles Leclerc and others will be ready to make a ton of noise in Australia too. With Leclerc, he knows what it takes to come out on top over a loaded field and he obviously has a ton of great wins under his belt as well. Because of this, he’s going to have the confidence in going toe-to-toe with the top drivers.
In addition to Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton is also getting plenty of pre-race love, as he’s without a doubt a true legend of the sport. Hamilton may not have the best odds at +600, but whenever he’s behind the wheel, he’s always a threat to post a win for his team. Leclerc is the same, and his +450 betting odds are nothing to sneeze at either. Both Hamilton and Leclerc demand the respect they deserve.
All in all, something tells us that this is going to be a tight race and no one is going to simply run away with things. With it being the first race of the season too, it’s only going to make things even more intriguing for everyone to enjoy. While we’re going to double down with Verstappen as our pick to win, we also won’t hesitate in saying that Verstappen, Leclerc and Hamilton won’t let him get away with things too easily.
