F1 title odds slashed following Ferrari Bahrain pre-season test lap times
The bookies have had their say on Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton's title chances.
The odds on the Formula One World Drivers' Championship have changed massively following the final day of Bahrain testing.
On Friday afternoon, the 2026 Formula One pre-season officially came to an end following the final day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
With a new set of regulations introduced ahead of the season, the F1 grid were given three weeks to test their new cars in Barcelona and Bahrain.
Following the tests, Mercedes appear to be the team to watch when the season gets underway in two weeks time, with their controversial engine seemingly putting them on top of the pecking order.
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However, the final day of testing in Bahrain saw the odds for the 2026 title shift significantly following Ferrari's surprise performance.
It's safe to say that the 2025 season was one to forget for Ferrari, as both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton failed to win a single race, finishing 5th and 6th in the season standings respectively.
But, if pre-season is anything to go off, it looks like this could massively change in 2026 as Ferrari look to be serious contenders for the title.
Before testing in Bahrain, Sky Bet had Leclerc at 20/1 to win the 2026 title, while teammate Hamilton was priced at 25/1 to win a record eighth championship.
However, after a series of impressive performances in Bahrain, Ferrari's Monegasque star is now 11/2 to win his maiden title, with Hamilton a 7/1 to outsider.
The change of pricing comes as no surprise following Leclerc's performance in the final day of testing as he set the fastest lap with an impressive 1:31.992 time while putting in a lap count of 132.
Leclerc's performance comes just one day after his teammate made headlines as he overtook three other drivers - including those up to four rows ahead of him - during a practice start.
Speaking about their performance in testing, Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur said: "Our target was to do a lot of mileage and I think this went pretty well, to collect data, to try to improve session after session, and I think this went well.
“Now, performance is not relative – it’s not performance relative and, at the end of the day, we don’t know the level of fuel of the others, we don’t know the engine mode, we don’t know that we didn’t have the same tyres.
“It means that, let’s be focused on ourselves to try to do a better job in Melbourne and this weekend, and we’ll see where we are.”
However, Ferrari's performance in testing is not quite enough for either driver to emerge as the favourite for the 2026 title, as Mercedes star George Russell is on top, priced at 9/4 ahead of Max Verstappen at 4/1.
Topics: Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1
Ben McCrum