After two years of cancelations because of the pandemic, Formula 1 will return to the Suzuka Circuit on the south coast of Japan for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix. Before the hiatus, Mercedes had dominated the Japanese GP of late, winning the last six races in a row. Lewis Hamilton is a five-time winner at the Suzuka Circuit and will be seeking a sixth victory on Sunday to tie Michael Schumacher's record for the most Japan GP wins. The race will start at 1 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Hamilton and Mercedes have struggled this season but he's listed at 10-1 in the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix odds from Caesars Sportsbook in large part because of his track record. However, Red Bull's Max Verstappen is the -190 favorite (bet $190 to win $100) as the runaway favorite to win his second drivers' championship and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc is second on the F1 Japan odds board at 15-4. Before analyzing the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix starting grid and making any Formula 1 picks, be sure to check out the latest 2022 Japan GP predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results. It's had a strong history of success in motorsports, correctly predicting seven winners during the 2021 NASCAR season and its projected leaderboards have forecasted winners across multiple racing formats.
The model has been scorching hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 race events dating back to 2021. It nailed both of Leclerc's wins in 2022, and at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, the model was strongly backing Verstappen as its top pick. The result: Verstappen dominated the field and ran away with a surprise victory. The model followed that up by calling Verstappen's win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and then nailed his wins again each of the last two weeks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Anyone who followed the model's lead on those plays has seen huge returns
Now, the model has dialed in on the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. You can head to SportsLine now to see the complete 2022 Japanese GP leaderboard projection.
Top 2022 Formula 1 Japanese GP predictions
One massive shocker: McClure is fading Perez even though he's the fourth favorite for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix at 11-1. With Red Bull finally reestablishing itself as the dominant force in Formula One, Perez has had the benefit of racing in superior equipment all season and he's managed to turn that into the first two victories of his F1 career. However, he's struggled in Japan since joining Formula 1 in 2011.
Perez has made nine career starts in the Japanese Grand Prix and he's never finished better than seventh. And despite his win in Singapore last week, he's failed to reach the podium in six of his last nine starts. He's third in the F1 standings and is only two points behind Leclerc for second but the model predicts that he fails to hit the podium again on Sunday. See who the model is backing right here.
How to make 2022 Japanese Grand Prix picks
The model is also targeting one double-digit longshot to make a surprising surge up the leaderboard. Anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can find out who he is, and see all of the model's F1 picks and predictions at SportsLine.
So who wins the Japan Grand Prix 2022? And which under-the-radar drivers makes a charge towards the front? Check out the latest 2022 F1 odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2022 Japanese Grand Prix leaderboard, all from the model with a proven history of auto racing success, and find out.
2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix odds, field, top contenders
See Japanese Grand Prix picks at SportsLine
Max Verstappen -190
Charles Leclerc 15-4
Lewis Hamilton 10-1
Sergio Perez 11-1
George Russell 14-1
Carlos Sainz 18-1
Lando Norris 150-1
Fernando Alonso 200-1
Daniel Ricciardo 400-1
Esteban Ocon 400-1
Pierre Gasly 500-1
Sebastian Vettel 750-1
Lance Stroll 750-1
Yuki Tsunoda 1000-1
Valtteri Bottas 1500-1
Kevin Magnussen 1500-1
Mick Schumacher 2000-1
Alexander Albon 2000-1
Guanyu Zhou 2000-1
Nicholas Latifi 2500-1
