The 2025 Formula One season gets underway in Australia in a couple of weeks. The season is shaping up to be a very competitive one, with six drivers having a legitimate chance of winning the Drivers’ Championship heading into the season, according to the betting odds.
Below, I will look at the six Drivers Championship contenders for the 2025 season according to the odds from a popular Canadian online sportsbook. If you live in Canada and are interested in betting online, I suggest checking out HowToBet.ca for step-by-step guides to help you get started. They offer betting tutorials for various events, including Formula 1.
Lando Norris 2/1
Lando Norris is the favorite to finish atop the Drivers’ Championship standings at the Canadian sportsbook I looked at. That said, the favorite seems to switch between Norris and Verstappen, depending on which betting site you look at.
Norris was a force last season, gaining ground on Verstappen in the summer months and winning the season’s final race in Abu Dhabi. If McLaren can put a fast car on the track again this year, Norris has shown the ability to win races, and he could make that jump to the top spot in the standings.
Max Verstappen 5/2
Max Verstappen will have something to say about losing his spot at #1. Verstappen has now won four straight Drivers Championships (2021-2024), and he won’t be giving up his spot as the top driver in the world easily. With his track record and Red Bulls ability to resolve issues and put a competitive car on the track, you must think Verstappen is still considered the favorite among his peers.
That said, Verstappen did win the first 7 races last year. If it wasn’t for that head start Verstappen may not have secured the Drivers’ Championship.
Charles Leclerc 4/1
Charles Leclerc finished third in the standings last year and will look to make another jump forward in his career this season. Leclerc is known for his qualifying ability. If he can transfer that speed into races without any mistakes from his team, then he’s a threat to win each week.
Lewis Hamilton 5/1
Lewis Hamilton is moving to Ferrari this season. It will be interesting to see how Hamilton fares in a Ferrari car this year. We will get to see just how good Charles Leclerc is with this legend on his team. It’s possible we see Hamilton get back to the top of the sport if the Ferrari car is to his liking.
Oscar Piastri 9/1
Oscar Piastri finished fourth in the standings last year in the fast McLaren car. At just 23 years old Piastri could contend for wins if he takes another step forward in his career and McLaren maintains their spot as the fastest car in the field.
George Russell 14/1
The last true contender would be George Russell. He has proven his ability over the past few years, and after finishing ahead of teammate Lewis Hamilton last year, Mercedes is now purely George Russell’s team. If Mercedes can turn back the clock to the 2014-2021 era, when they had the fastest car, then Russell has a shot at winning the Drivers’ Championship. At these odds, it might be smart to back Mercedes.
