The 2022 Formula 1 schedule continues on Sunday with the 2022 Honda Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit on Sunday, Oct. 9. The race has a scheduled start time of 1 a.m. ET. Red Bull's Sergio Perez won last week in Singapore despite being assigned a five-second post-race penalty and Perez is just two points behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc for second in the 2022 F1 standings. However, Max Verstappen of Red Bull still owns a 104-point lead for the drivers' championship while Red Bull has a 137-point lead for the constructors' championship. Verstappen is the -190 favorite (risk $190 to win $100) in the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix odds from Caesars Sportsbook while Leclerc is at 15-4. Perez is at 11-1 and is sandwiched between Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton (10-1) and George Russell (14-1) in the F1 Japan odds.

SportsLine's proven computer projection model simulated the Japanese Grand Prix 2022 10,000 times and came 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 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. The model followed that up by calling Verstappen's win at the Rolex Emilia Romagna GP in April and then again the last two weeks in Belgium and the Netherlands. Anyone who followed the model's lead on those plays has seen HUGE returns!

The Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka City on the south coast of Japan hosted the Japanese Grand Prix intermittently between 1966 and 1976 and served as the permanent host from 1987 until 2019. Now Formula 1 returns after two years away after the 2020 and 2021 Japanese Grand Prix was canceled because of the pandemic. Mercedes has won the last six F1 Japan GPs but the manufacturer is yet to win a race this season after eight consecutive contructors' championship.

Now, the model has dialed in on the 2022 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix and just released its coveted picks and leaderboard projections. 

We can tell you the model is fading Perez even though he's the fourth favorite for the 2022 Japanese Grand Prix at 11-1. Perez captured his second win of the season and career last week in Singapore, winning by just under 2.6 seconds over Leclerc after being assessed a five-second penalty by FIA. Now he's within striking distance of Leclerc for second in the standings but the 32-year-old Mexican hasn't enjoyed much success at the Suzuka Circuit. In nine career Japanese Grand Prix starts, Perez has never finished better than seventh and the model predicts he missed the podium again on Sunday.

The model is also targeting one driver with double-digit Japanese Grand Prix odds to make a serious charge up the leaderboard! Anyone who backs this driver could hit it BIG. You ABSOLUTELY need to see who he is before locking in any Formula 1 Japan GP picks of your own.

So who wins the 2022 Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix? And which long shot is a MUST-BACK? ... Join SportsLine right now to see the full projected F1 Japan GP leaderboard, all from the model that has nailed its racing picks all year, and find out!