Morning Coffee: Can anyone catch Red Bull and Verstappen?

Dominant.

That’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s performance in 2023. 

The F1 driver claimed the third world championship of his career last year and did it in a way we haven’t seen someone do it before. 

Verstappen won 19 of 22 races in 2023, smashing the previous record of 15 that he also set in 2022. 

Red Bull as a team won 21 of the 22 races. The team’s win rate of 95.45 per cent was the highest percentage of Grand Prix wins in a season ever, beating McLaren's 1988 season when they won 15 of 16. 

As testing in Bahrain gets underway for 2024, one big question remains: Can anyone catch Verstappen and Red Bull? 

As always, there's a lot going on in the world of sports, so let's dive into a few different stories that have my attention. 

By the way, if you’re wondering where Domenic Padula, the usual author of this column, is. Have no fear. Our fearless leader has taken a much-deserved vacation and will be back next week. 

For now, he’s asked me to do the dishes, shovel the driveway and take the dog for a walk before he returns. 

This is the Morning Coffee for Wednesday, Feb. 21.

Can anyone catch Red Bull and Verstappen? 

It should come as no surprise that Verstappen enters the 2024 F1 season as an overwhelming favourite to win the Driver’s Championship. 

The Dutchman is -380 to win his fourth championship this season after the record-setting 2023. 

Verstappen is looking to become just the fifth driver in F1 history to win five straight Driver’s Championships. 

Lewis Hamilton has the second shortest odds to win the championship, coming in at 10-1. No other driver has odds of 15-1 or shorter. 

While the odds suggest Verstappen is a shoo-in to win the individual championship, they also favour Red Bull in the constructors championship. 

Red Bull is -480 to win a third consecutive team championship after shattering the previous record for points in a season last year with 860. 

The team's margin of victory last year was so wide that if you totalled the points of second and third place (Mercedes and Ferrari), you'd still have a 45-point advantage for Red Bull. 

Will anyone or any team contend for a title this year other than Verstappen and Red Bull? Let us know on X at @TSN_Edge. 

Three Canadian teams in action Wednesday night 

There are only five NHL games tonight, but three of them feature Canadian teams. 

The Montreal Canadiens host the Buffalo Sabres as they look to turn things around at home after dropping 15 of their past 21 at the Bell Centre. 

Forward Nick Suzuki enters the game riding a 10-game point streak and is -240 to record another tonight. 

The 24-year-old centre has just one point in his last six games against Buffalo. 

The Edmonton Oilers are home to the Boston Bruins, looking for their ninth-straight win on home ice. 

Leon Draisaitl has recorded an assist in eight of his last 10 games and had an assist in both games against Boston last season. He is -120 to get another this evening. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Arizona, where Auston Matthews will look to score his 50th goal of the season in front of a hometown crowd. 

The American has a goal in eight of his last 10 games and has scored in three of the six games he's played in Arizona. 

He is -120 to get this 50th goal of the season this evening, while Phoenix native Matthews Knies is +120 to record a point in his first game in front of his hometown friends and family. 

Five names to watch at Mexico Open 

When Dom gave me the green light to handle Morning Coffee this week, he told me to "write about what you know." 

So, I'm holding true to that for the final leg of the article today. 

Yesterday, Bob Weeks gave six plays for the 2024 Mexican Open. Today, I'll give you a few long shots to eye. 

With this week's event lacking some star power and Tony Finau sporting an ice-cold putter at the moment, I'm targeting names lower on the board with the potential to pop and guys who have had success on paspalum greens, a surface we don't see too often on the PGA Tour. 

Justin Suh 50-1 

Similar to 2023, it was a quiet West Coast swing for Justin Suh. 

The American has failed to crack the top 20 in his first four events to start the season, but he did the same thing last year before tying for fifth in his first event once that part of the calendar ended. 

Suh is showing signs of a breakout. He's gained strokes off the tee in 10 of his past 11 events and has been positive on approach in two of his last three.  

The 26-year-old has played in five PGA Tour events on paspalum grass. He's gained at least three strokes or more on the field in four of them, and last year finished fourth at the World Wide Technology Championship, gaining over 11 strokes to the field. 

Vincent Norrman 75-1

Another buy-low spot appears to be Vincent Norrman at 75-1. 

Norrman hasn't finished inside the top 50 in any of the four tour events he's played this year. 

However, after knocking off the rust early, Norrman's iron play is trending in the right direction, and he's been solid as ever - gaining strokes off the tee in nine of his past 10 - with the driver lately. 

Norrman appears to be comfortable on paspalum grass as he has a T16 and T18 in his only two events on this surface. 

Last year at the Mexico Open, he gained strokes around the green and putting, something he couldn't do once on the West Coast. 

The last time he gained around the green and putting came in September when he won the Irish Open on the DP World Tour. 

He was also above tour average from 175-200 yards and 200-225 yards in 2023, something that could come in handy this week at a golf course that will put a lot of long irons in these players' hands. 

Alexander Bjork 90-1 

Speaking of long irons, let's discuss Alexander Bjork. 

Bjork ranks inside the top 25 on tour from 175-200 yards and 200-225. That'll help this week. 

He is one of the shorter players off the tee in this field, which isn't ideal, but his approach numbers have been awesome, gaining strokes on approach in eight of his last nine. 

With wide fairways, I expect Bjork to have a high percentage of fairways hit and separate himself from the field with his iron play and putting. 

According to RickRunGood.com, Bjork ranks second in this field on courses that offer easier scoring conditions. 

Francesco Molinari 150-1

When players win an Open Championship they get a five-year exemption into PGA Tour events. 

It appears for Molinari that was extended one year due to COVID-19 in 2020. 

That means he's in the final year of his exemption after winning the Claret Jug in 2018. 

Three starts ago, Molinari finished fifth in the Dubai Invitational. He was just four shots worse than Tommy Fleetwood, and three behind Rory McIlroy. 

With this field lacking a lot of elite talent, it wouldn't stun me to see an inspired Italian make a charge on Sunday in an attempt to secure his status on the PGA Tour. 

Paul Barjon 250-1 

At 250-1 I'm sure you can find every reason why Paul Barjon won't win this tournament but let me give you a few why he might mess around and contend. 

Barjon hits the ball a mile off the tee. 

This year, he ranks 19th in driving distance on the PGA Tour, and last year he was No. 2 in total driving on the Korn Ferry Tour. 

He also had two wins on the KFT last year and tied for second at the Mexico Championship in 2020. 

He missed the cut in his only trip to the Mexico Open despite gaining over three strokes with his irons.

I'm hoping he puts it all together this week and gives us a longshot sweat come Sunday afternoon.