Hamilton SLUMPS in F1 title favourites as surprise Verstappen challenger emerges

Lewis Hamilton has seen his pre-season chances slip down in the latest Formula 1 title predictions heading into the 2024 campaign.

The Mercedes driver of course finished third in the world championship last season behind world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, finishing as the best non-Red Bull car, which went on to win an astonishing 19 of the 22 races.

While the seven-time world champion has not won a race for over two seasons now, he is still considered the chief rival to Verstappen.

Yet in the latest odds released by OLBG, Hamilton is ranked only third favourite to win the world championship with odds as far out as 11/1 giving him just an 8.3 per cent chance success.

New British star in town

Instead the favourite behind Verstappen, who is 1/4 on with a likely success rate of 80 per cent, is Hamilton's British compatriot Lando Norris.

The McLaren star has yet to win a race but was a regular podium challenger in the second half of the 2023 season as the Woking outfit enjoyed a surge up the grid following hugely successful mid-term upgrades.

Norris though is also only considered an outside shout at best at 13/2 (13.3 per cent).

Rounding out the top five are Norris's McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri at 20/1 (4.8 per cent), with Charles Leclerc also given the same odds as the lead Ferrari favourite.

The new Formula 1 campaign gets underway on March 2 with the Bahrain Grand Prix with a record 24-race season penned in the calendar.

READ MORE: F1 2024 car launches: Dates, times and how to watch live

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