Suzuka International Racing Course will be the fourth stop on this year's Formula 1 schedule when it hosts the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday. Just two weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy that forced him to miss the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Ferrari's Carlos Sainz returned to action at the Australian Grand Prix two weeks ago and scored the third win of his career. Sainz's victory stopped a streak of dominance from Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen and bunched the 2024 F1 standings.

Verstappen is still the -350 favorite (bet $350 to win $100) in the 2024 Japanese Grand Prix odds, while Sainz and Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc are 11-1. Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez is 12-1, while McLaren's Lando Norris rounds out the top five in this week's F1 odds at 20-1. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 1 a.m. ET.

SportsLine's proven computer projection model simulated the Japanese GP 2024 10,000 times and come up with a surprising leaderboard.

Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary Formula 1 prediction model takes into account a slew of factors including track history and recent results.

The model has been scorching hot when it comes to picking Formula 1 race events dating back to 2021. It nailed both of Charles Leclerc's wins in 2022, and at the 2021 Mexican Grand Prix, the model was strongly backing Verstappen as its top pick. The result: Verstappen dominated the field and ran away with a surprising victory. 

It followed that up by calling Verstappen's win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and nailed Verstappen to win in Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, Mexico and Abu Dhabi. It also called all 19 of Verstappen's wins during the 2023 season and nailed his wins in the first two races of 2024! Anyone who followed the model's lead on those plays has seen HUGE returns!

The Suzuka Circuit has been the almost-permanent home of the Japanese Grand Prix since 1987. The 18-turn grand prix circuit measures at 3.608 miles and features signature sections like S curves, the Casino Triangle and the Spoon Curve. Michael Schumacher's six wins at the Japanese Grand Prix are the most in Formula 1 history, but Lewis Hamilton could tie the record and end a career-long 48-race winless streak with a victory. However, Max Verstappen has won the last two editions of the Japanese Grand Prix, which ended a six-year run at the top of the podium for Mercedes.

Now, the model has dialed in on the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. 

We can tell you the model is fading Carlos Sainz, even though he's one of the top favorites! Despite being the only driver outside of Red Bull Racing to win in 2023, Sainz finished seventh in the drivers' standings last year and has never finished higher than fifth in Formula 1. In his last five starts at the Japanese Grand Prix, Sainz has retired twice and finished fifth sixth, and 10th. Those results don't inspire much confidence for the second favorite entering the week.

Instead, the model is also targeting two OTHER drivers going off longer than 50-1 to make serious charges up the leaderboard, including an epic triple-digit longshot! Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it BIG. You ABSOLUTELY need to see who he is before locking in any Formula 1 Japanese GP picks of your own.

So who wins the 2024 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix? And which SERIOUS long shots could be in contention? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the full projected Japanese GP leaderboard, all from the model that nailed all 19 of Verstappen's wins last season, and find out!