Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix Betting Preview
The next race is the Singapore Grand Prix where last year Nelson Piquet Jnr deliberately crashed his car in order to assist Fernando Alonso a chance to win the race, which he subsequently achieved. As the furore surrounding “Crashgate” is now passed, although it is still fresh in the mind of sports betting fans, we can look at the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix and decide who the good bets are for this race. Taking the odds from bwin.com into account, we can also consider the results of yesterdays practise session showing which drivers showed early form on the racetrack.
Jenson Button, the championship leader, has odds of 5.50 to win the race. He certainly has the car to win the race although he has shown that the pressure of holding such a big lead in the championship can be debilitating to a drivers ability to squeeze 100% out of their car. Because he only needs a few wins to claim the title there will not be a driver on the grid (with the exception of the Toro Rosso team perhaps) that will find victory more difficult to achieve. However, despite the pressure he is a seasoned campaigner and has shown improvement in the last couple of races, he should be thereabouts come the finishing line.
Lewis Hamilton is the favourite for the outright winner at 4.10 and to win all of the qualifying and remaining practise sessions. It is sometimes difficult to work out whether this is because of the betting public’s genuine faith in his ability to deliver or whether simply due to his profile he is the most common bet for people supporting Formula 1. Hamilton was 9th fastest in the first practise session which is some way off the pace. He will need a big improvement in qualifying to justify the support in the markets; however in the past he has always shown the ability to find himself in the front positions of a race even when slightly off form.
Early support for Sebastian Vettel after being the fastest in the practise session has seen his odds drop from 7.00 to 6.00 for the overall winner. Webber crashed out yesterday meaning that the Red Bull team must focus their immediate attention on Vettel claiming a high grid position. Along with Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Barrichello between these five drivers I believe will occupy the final podium positions. You may need to get your bet on Vettel early as his price is shortening. Finishing on pole position in qualifying may see him gambled into the favourite’s position.
Rubens Barrichello is poised to push his team mate Button right to the finish in the championships in their Brawn cars and probably has the most hunger after many years of being the number two driver in Ferrari under Michael Schumacher. Dedication and effort will not be spared by this talented driver who will want to prove that he is a genuine winner. He has shown solid results this season and is a consistent podium finisher. I think he is a decent bet at 7.00 to win the race. The difficult moment this season for Rubens may be if he genuinely has a chance to win the championship in a few races time. For now, however, the chase is on to catch Button and all the pressure remains on Jenson to close out the championships.
For those of you wanting to bet on qualifying there are a number of markets available at bwin.com including betting on each of the two qualifying sessions and the overall qualifying winners. You can also bet on head to head betting and whether or not drivers finish the race which I always find entertaining to wager on. For example Nakajima for Williams is 1.35 to finish the race and 2.95 not to finish the race.
Formula 1 will be eager for a hotly contested but clean race after the cheating scandal of 2008. The championship has a strong leader in Jenson Button but as long as it remains possible for other drivers to win the entertainment should be as good as ever and you can join in too by betting on the action at bwin.com.
By Malcolm Clarke
