F1 2019 guide to the grid: team analysis and title odds

Mercedes

44 Lewis Hamilton Title odds: 11-8
77 Valtteri Bottas 25-1

Mercedes, unbeaten in the hybrid era of Formula One, retained their titles by a comfortable margin in 2018 but it was a closer fight than the numbers suggest.

With few significant rule changes the pack are likely to close further and despite a largely quiet winter the Brackley-based German team remain the ones to beat.

Lewis Hamilton is at the top of his game and there are no signs of the spark waning as he begins his 13th F1 season.

Ferrari

5 Sebastian Vettel 2-1
16 Charles Leclerc 5-1

F1's oldest and most successful team looked the clear stars of the winter until Mercedes finally showed their potential on the final day in Barcelona.

Sebastian Vettel led the championship for the first seven races last year and they look in good shape for another strong start, but the German scored his fifth and final victory of the season in the 13th of 21 races, and staying competitive deep into the season has been Ferrari's weakness in recent seasons.

• Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel favourite to win Australian GP

Impressive youngster Charles Leclerc will keep Vettel on his toes - and it wouldn't be the biggest surprise if he outperforms the four-time world champion.

Max Verstappen will look to unite the Red Bull team behind him this seasonCredit: Christopher Jue

Red Bull Honda

10 Pierre Gasly 66-1
33 Max Verstappen 10-1

This could be a make-or-break year for Max Verstappen who has the opportunity to make the Red Bull team his own following the departure of senior driver Daniel Ricciardo to Renault.

As has often been the case, they finished last season strongly and Verstappen was unfortunate to win only one of the final three races.

They often had the fastest car in mid-race conditions, but were too far behind by then to make it count.

Swapping Renault power for Honda engines may not pay immediate dividends judging from winter form.

Renault

3 Daniel Ricciardo 80-1
27 Nico Hulkenberg 250-1

Renault landed the coup of the off-season by luring Daniel Ricciardo away from Red Bull, but keeping the trademark beaming smile on the Aussie's face won't be easy.

The team took a step forward last year but there is still a gulf in performance between them and the big three and their aim for this year will be to edge closer to that elite group as they continue their long-term plan of recapturing their mid-2000s glory years.

Haas Ferrari

8 Romain Grosjean 600-1
20 Kevin Magnussen 500-1

Despite baffling inconsistency Haas made a good step forward last season.

Finishing the year as best of the rest (behind the dominant Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull teams) would have been achievable without the points thrown away through errors by the team and drivers.

The American team are one of only two to have retained both drivers from last year and if they can show similar consistency in their results they could stay on an upward curve.

• F1 pre-season testing report

McLaren Renault

4 Lando Norris 600-1
55 Carlos Sainz jnr 250-1

A switch from Honda to Renault power didn't provide the hoped-for boost for McLaren last season. They were often towards the back in practice and while they did better in the races, Fernando Alonso likely had a lot to do with that.

A desire to improve their single-lap pace probably explains their rapid laptimes in testing and they could be under pressure to maintain sixth place in the constructors table.

Canadian Lance Stroll moves from Williams to Racing Point for this yearCredit: Charles Coates

Sport Pesa Racing Point Mercedes

11 Sergio Perez 600-1
18 Lance Stroll 750-1

Perennial overperformers Force India underwent a change of ownership in the second half of last year.

That will ease their money worries, but they had a quiet winter both in terms of pace and mileage so they could start the season on the back foot.

They also field a weaker driver pairing following the departure of Esteban Ocon.

Alfa Romeo Ferrari

7 Kimi Raikkonen 150-1
99 Antonio Giovinazzi 1,000-1

The Swiss-based team improved dramatically last year thanks to closer ties with Ferrari and they will be looking to continue that upswing with 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen on board.

Raikkonen proved a match for his teammate Sebastian Vettel on several occasions in the latter part of last season at Ferrari and he will enjoy enjoy being a bit further from the limelight.

The team were in the midst of a packed midfield in testing and a recent cash injection should help them keep up with the pace of development as the season progresses.

Daniil Kvyat driving the Toro Rosso in testing in SpainCredit: Mark Thompson

Toro Rosso Honda

23 Alexander Albon 1,000-1
26 Daniil Kvyat 1,000-1

Toro Rosso's 2018 campaign was blighted by unreliability as Honda strived to improve the performance of its powertrain, leading to the drivers picking up grid penalties on several occasions.

Winter testing has been positive, both in terms of pace and reliability, and it will be a surprise if they don't improve on last season's ninth-place finish.

Williams Mercedes

63 George Russell 1,000-1
88 Robert Kubica 1,000-1

Testing didn't quite become the disaster it threatened to for Williams when the team were two days late getting the car ready, but the formerly dominant English outfit begin the season as favourites for the wooden spoon.

Robert Kubica looked a potential champion with BMW and Renault before almost losing his arm in a rally crash prior to the 2011 F1 season. It's a miracle that he is back in F1 but that is as far as the fairytale is likely to go.

Formula Two champion George Russell is a bright prospect and it is to be hoped he has a strong enough season to stay on the bigger teams' radar.

*prices correct at 6pm March 11

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