We’re back with just our second Formula One race of the year, having won earlier when Lewis Hamilton took the British Grand Prix in July. This time, we’ll take a look at the Mexican Grand Prix, which takes place Sunday, Oct. 27.

Even those who don’t follow racing much know of Hamilton, as he’s closing in on his third consecutive F1 title and the sixth of his career. Definitely a bit brash, which turns off some people, there’s no denying the man’s talent, although he hasn’t always had the best racing luck South of the Border. Hamilton won in Mexico in 2016, but  Max Verstappen has won the last two races here. Still, it’s Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc who is the slight favorite in this one, with Hamilton a close second, and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel third, so no secret the Prancing Horse team is expected to do well. Verstappen is fourth in the odds, with a decent-sized gap to Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton’s teammate with Mercedes and the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Odds as of Oct. 17 from 5Dimes:

Driver Odds
Charles Leclerc +200
Lewis Hamilton +225
Sebastian Vettel +385
Max Verstappen +450
Valtteri Bottas +990
Alexander Albon +7260
Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris +75000
Daniel Ricciardo, Nico Hulkenberg +110000
Sergio Perez, Pierre Gasly, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyat +165000
Lance Stroll, Antonio Giovinazzi, Romain Grosjean, Kevin Magnussen +220000
George Russell, Robert Kubica +550000

 

Now, I like Hamilton as much as anybody, but the odds suggest this isn’t going to be the greatest of races for the two Mercedes drivers. It isn’t as much as Hamilton not being the favorite as it is Bottas being nearly 10-to-1, as he’s second in the season standings behind Hamilton and coming off the victory in Japan. While Hamilton would no doubt love to win this race, it’s much more important for him to just finish in the top five, as he should be more concerned with the overall season title than winning a race he won three years ago.

While Verstappen has won here the last two years it was with a Renault-powered car and Red Bull is using Honda’s this year, so not quite so sure he’ll have the same success as the previous two seasons.

That leaves the two Ferrari drivers, Leclerc and Vettel, and while Leclerc is in third place in the season standings, he’s just nine points in front of Vettel, who is tied for fourth with Verstappen. Vettel did win at Singapore on Sept. 22 and was second in Japan and is probably a better value play, so will take a shot on Vettel at +385 in this race.