Even though almost everyone was predicting an easy third straight World Drivers' Championship victory for Max Verstappen in 2023, his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez continues to pile the pressure on early into the season.
The Mexican driver put together the perfect weekend in Azerbaijan last time out to close the gap in the drivers standings to six points at the top and he'll be desperate for more success in Miami this weekend.
As a result of his recent performances, Perez's odds have dropped significantly to win this race, though Verstappen still remains favourite. Charles Leclerc, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton all follow close-ish behind.
Ahead of the action getting underway, The Sporting News dives through all of the odds to give you the best bets and tips for the upcoming 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
MORE: F1 2023 season predictions, odds, betting tips and best bets
F1 Miami Grand Prix 2023 odds to win
Just like in the four previous races of the 2023 F1 season, Max Verstappen has been made heavy favourite to win the 2023 Miami Grand Prix.
That said, Sergio Perez has severely closed the gap odds wise in comparison to recent weeks as the Mexican driver completed a famous double race win in Azerbaijan during both the F1 Sprint and subsequent Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc comes in as the third favourite to win in Miami — a track where he picked up pole position last season — after he picked up a podium finish last time out in Baku.
The Ferrari driver is followed by Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and Carlos Sainz on the odds list.
Full list of odds for drivers to win the 2023 Miami Grand Prix
Odds via BetMGM (USA), Sports Interaction (Canada), SkyBet (UK), Neds (Australia) and Dafabet (India). Odds correct as of May 4.
| Driver | BetMGM | Sports Interaction |
Sky Bet | Neds | Dafabet |
| Max Verstappen | -200 | 1.44 | 4/9 | 1.50 | 1.40 |
| Sergio Perez | +300 | 4.00 | 11/4 | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Charles Leclerc | +1200 | 13.00 | 12/1 | 13.00 | 13.00 |
| Fernando Alonso | +1400 | 15.00 | 14/1 | 15.00 | 15.00 |
| Lewis Hamilton | +2000 | 26.00 | 25/1 | 21.00 | 26.00 |
| George Russell | +2200 | 41.00 | 40/1 | 23.00 | 41.00 |
| Carlos Sainz | +2500 | 34.00 | 33/1 | 26.00 | 34.00 |
| Lance Stroll | +8000 | 101.00 | 100/1 | 101 | 101.00 |
| Lando Norris | +15000 | 101.00 | 200/1 | 151 | 101.00 |
| Esteban Ocon | +25000 | 251.00 | 200/1 | 251 | 251.00 |
| Pierre Gasly | +25000 | 251.00 | 200/1 | 251 | 251.00 |
| Yuki Tsunoda | +75000 | 501.00 | 500/1 | 1001 | 501.00 |
| Oscar Piastri | +75000 | 501.00 | 500/1 | 1001 | 501.00 |
| Alex Albon | +100000 | 501.00 | 500/1 | 1001 | 501.00 |
| Logan Sargeant | +100000 | 501.00 | 1000/1 | 1001 | 501.00 |
| Nico Hulkenberg | +100000 | 501.00 | 750/1 | 1001 | 501.00 |
| Kevin Magnussen | +100000 | 501.00 | 750/1 | 1001 | 501.00 |
| Valtteri Bottas | +200000 | 501.00 | 750/1 | 2001 | 501.00 |
| Zhou Guanyu | +200000 | 501.00 | 750/1 | 2001 | 501.00 |
| Nyck de Vries | +200000 | 501.00 | 1000/1 | 2001 | 501.00 |
F1 Miami Grand Prix 2023: Best bet
- Pick: Race winning margin to be between 00 - 05.999 seconds
- Odds: +110 (BetMGM)
What Sergio Perez's recent form has shown is that on his day, he can compete and better Max Verstappen.
That's great for F1 neutrals who want to see more of a title battle this season, whilst it also opens up most markets that are likely to bring success from a betting perspective.
We've plumped for one of those here as we expect the race to be won with a lead of between 0 and 05.999 seconds. That happened during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix last time out (2.137 seconds) plus it happened during the first running of the Miami Grand Prix last season as Verstappen got the better of Leclerc by just 3.786 seconds.
The tight nature of this track is likely to bunch the pack up even more in 2023.
F1 Miami Grand Prix 2023: Prop bet
- Pick: Lando Norris points finish
- Odds: 8/15 (SkyBet)
Despite McLaren suffering a rough start to the season, the British F1 team have seemingly recovered of late and now possess a car that is more than capable of cracking the top ten on race day.
That was evident again as Norris strolled to a points finish in Azerbaijan, whilst his overall form suggests that another points finish here is likely after he finished P6 in Melbourne during the previous GP.
To add further to the point, over the past three seasons, McLaren's 'Mr Consistency' has taken points in 39 times from 48 race appearances. His teammate Oscar Piastri's pace also seems strong of late which helps to highlight the car's improvements as they look to do battle in the midfield once again this season.
F1 Miami Grand Prix 2023: Flier bet
- Pick: Perez to Win, Hamilton & Leclerc Top 6 Finish
- Odds: 9/2 (SkyBet)
If you fancy Perez to win back-to-back F1 races for the first time in his career then look no further than this selection.
By adding both Hamilton and Leclerc to secure top six finishes in Miami to the bet, it bumps the odds up to 9/2 which represents really good value on a seemingly obvious outcome in this race.
As mentioned prior, Leclerc looked extremely quick in Baku last time out, securing pole position for both the sprint race and Grand Prix before taking P3 in Sunday's race. He too took pole in Miami last year before finishing second to Verstappen in the final race standings.
As for Hamilton, well he continues to remain reliable when it comes to top six finishes despite his Mercedes car seemingly offering very different output each week. Granted, he slipped to P7 in the sprint race in Azerbaijan but he recovered to take P6 in the Grand Prix meaning that he's finished in the top six in all four races so far in 2023.
What were The Sporting News' picks for the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?
Here's the review of our three picks from last weekend's Grand Prix in Baku and whether they were successful or not.
- Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan GP by 10+ seconds (6/4 - SkyBet) ❌
- Any driver other than Verstappen to win the Azerbaijan GP (+140 - BetMGM) ✅
- Leclerc, Sainz & Verstappen Top 6 Finish, Norris & Perez Points Finish (11/2 - SkyBet) ✅