F1 Betting in Ontario - Expert Tips On How To Bet On Formula 1 Racing
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Formula 1 betting in Ontario has risen in popularity following the legalisation of single event sports betting and the creation of the Ontario domestic betting market. The circuit in Montreal only adds to the interest, but wagering on F1 can be a little different to betting on other sports.
Differences Between F1 and Most Other Sports - How This Can Help or Hinder Bets
Although the F1 calendar's never been larger there are still just 24 races in a season, but every single team and driver takes part in every event. This means that the overall number of events to bet on are far fewer than for most other leading sports.
The car matters more than the driver, and there's no equivalent factor for other top sports. In addition, car characteristics can make it very poor at one circuit (say, the Monaco Grand Prix if it's weak on downforce) but very good at another (such as Monza, where low downforce is what you want).
Luck also plays a bigger role for players in Ontario betting on F1. This happens to a degree in every sport, but in F1 bad luck can mean an engine bursting into flames. For example, Max Verstappen in Brazil 2018 was lapping backmarker Esteban Ocon, only to have Ocon punt him out of the race.
The weather can wreak havoc. It can also dramatically increase the impact of the driver and mitigate a car's weaknesses. Nico Hulkenberg's fantastic podium from 19th on the grid in the British Grand Prix in 2025 is a perfect example. Much the same applies to the safety car, the timing of which helped Lando Norris to a maiden win in Miami 2024.
Dodgy team strategy can also sink an otherwise good bet. While Ferrari is heavily associated with this, it was McLaren who had a howler in 2024 when they cost Piastri a great chance of a win (which had odds of 29) by keeping him on a soaking wet track with dry tyres for an extra lap.
For betting, this means a cautious approach is wise. It also means long shots can come off, especially if you keep a sharp eye on social media for breaking news. But it can also screw over a very well-judged bet.
Follow F1 Testing, But Don't Take It as Gospel
Before every season of Formula 1 there is testing. Normally this is a single test (a few days at a particular circuit) but there's extra testing ahead of 2026 due to a larger than usual regulation change. The times that are set can be massively influenced in ways that mean they don't reflect genuine pace.
Usually, this is a fast team sandbagging. By lifting and coasting, using lower engine modes and the like, a fast team can mask the true pace of the car. But sometimes the reverse happens, and a slower team can slap on the fastest tyres, empty the tank so it's running on fumes, and crank up the engine to set a seemingly blistering time (which might just earn some positive headlines and attract a new sponsor).
Testing is not totally worthless. But it's more useful for mood music than as a precise guide to pace. And don't forget teams can develop rapidly. Haas and Sauber both looked poor in 2025 testing but, halfway through the season, both are competitive in the midfield.
F1 Practice Betting
Much as with testing, practice in F1 can involve sandbagging and predicting the 'fastest' can be tricky. But there's a long odds bet that can be worth making, if the forecast is for pretty heavy rain. When that happens it's possible no cars will go out, but top teams tend to be slightly warier (having more to lose). This can mean only a few backmarkers go out and are then 'top' of the session.
If the odds are in the hundreds it can be worth spraying around very small stakes (1-2% of a normal stake) backing the lower half of the midfield to top a practice session. Doing this each way (often a fifth the odds and paying out for the top 3) is a good idea. Bear in mind this usually won't come off, but the odds on offer mean that it's still worth trying, with suitably small stakes.
The F1 Sprint is a Great Guide
The F1 sprint is a mini-race that occurs six times a year. It happens before qualifying and the Grand Prix itself, and can be a fantastic guide to how the race proper will turn out. When betting on F1 be aware that teams can alter their setup from the F1 sprint to a Grand Prix, so it is possible for a big change in pace, but this is rare.
Interlagos, home of the Brazilian Grand Prix, is a favourite setting for the F1 sprint. In 2024, I backed Verstappen to win the race at 15 because his sprint performance had been so good, and this came off.
A similar effect happened in the pandemic-affected 2020 season, when numerous tracks hosted two races. Kvyat's strong performance in the first British race that year made his 7 for points a very tidy winner in the second race.
Top Ontario F1 Betting Tip: Back a Second Driver
F1 title betting is a fun market with an overlooked angle, which is backing the second (slower) driver in a team. That might sound dumb at first glance, but backing this each way (pre-season this may be a fifth the odds for top 3) can often prove lucrative.
A shining example is the 2025 season, when Piastri was, at one stage, all the way out to 14 for the title (he's currently leading at the time of writing). This makes him near certain to be top 3 with a great chance of winning it outright.
Piastri's a little bit different to the way this bet normally plays out, as he's still improving a lot as a newer driver and has really stepped up his game in 2025. But even if he'd remained a step behind Norris, this bet would still be on course to pay out each way for a top 3 result. And this is not an anomaly.
The 2017 season was part of Lewis Hamilton's dominant era, and he duly won the title. But the top 3 also featured his team mate, Valtteri Bottas. Pre-season, Bottas had odds of winning the title of 26, so an each way bet paid off nicely (effectively a 6 winner).
Naturally, this is not a dead cert of a bet, there's no such thing as a gambling guarantee. In 2024, Max Verstappen won his fourth title in a row but his team mate, Sergio Perez, was down in 8th. Likewise, in 2008 Lewis Hamilton was champion and Heikki Kovalainen was 7th.
Nonetheless, identifying a top team and then backing a second driver each way can sometimes offer better value than backing a number one driver.
The Weather Matters When F1 Betting in Ontario
The weather can fundamentally alter races, either when rain arrives or when a wet track dries out. And some drivers do much better in the wet than others (Lando Norris, Max Verstappen, and Lewis Hamilton are all examples of drivers who are great in the wet). Max Verstappen's awesome 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix victory came as he handled soaking wet conditions better than anyone else. Yet he struggled in the rainy 2025 British Grand Prix. The latter was because the Dutchman had a dry setup with low downforce, and higher downforce (offering more grip) is handy in the rain.
Temperature matters too. In the ground effect era the Mercedes has typically struggled to handle the heat, but been better than the rest in cool conditions. This helped George Russell and Lewis Hamilton achieve a 1-2 finish in the 2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix, which started at 10pm local time.
Keep an Eye on Social Media for Breaking News
It takes a sportsbook about 5-10 minutes to update odds when news breaks, and if that news is a top driver suddenly removed from contention there can be immense value.
Mid-season driver changes are not too common in F1, and in 2016 Max Verstappen got promoted suddenly to Red Bull. He had odds of 251 to win the next race, the Spanish Grand Prix, before bookies updated their odds. And win he did.
Spain was also where Lewis Hamilton got disqualified in 2012. This mattered a lot because he had been on pole position. Instead, Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso formed the front row and each had odds of 6 to lead lap 1 before the bookies caught up with the news. Alonso duly took the lead for a nice payout.
The 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix was a fantastic race, and a profitable one for those with lucky timing. Lewis Hamilton was dominant but had COVID-19 so he had to sit the race out. As the red hot favourite this provided a window of long odds bets on various other drivers. Among these was 61 on the eventual winner, Sergio Perez.
Ontario F1 Betting Sites
The domestic betting scene has plenty of great Onario gambling sites that offer betting on F1. Bet365 has an extensive selection of markets for each Grand Prix, plus title betting. Another option is FanDuel, which has fewer markets but does offer some interesting specials.
For those who prefer to place bets on their mobile, there are plenty of excellent sportsbetting apps for Ontario, with most of the regulated sites offering dedicated iOS and Android apps with live streaming of events as well as In-Play betting options. There are perfect if you want to bet on the Montreal Grand Prix as well.
Stay Sharp, Be Cautious, and Don't Get Carried Away
Players in Ontario betting on F1 can expect luck to play a bigger role than with other sports, so caution is due. But this same effect of Lady Luck can work in one's favour, especially when the weather or breaking news proves helpful, and can mean long shots come in. Whether things are going poorly or well, stay calm, and don't get carried away.
