F1 2012 Season Trend – Post Spanish Grand Prix

Friday, May 18, 2012

The 2012 Formula One season is the most unpredictable in years. There are five winners in five races. It seems not one team in particular has the winning formula.

However after five races, some trends have started to appear:

Lewis Hamilton is the fastest man in qualifying. He qualified on pole position three times this year – Australia, Malaysia and Spain, but due to various reasons. He has yet to win a race.
Lotus currently has the fastest and most consistent pace on race days, but their results so far have been held up by poor strategy decisions.
To win a race this year, one must lead the race and build a gap in the early phase of the race. This has all happened to the race winners so far, except Alonzo who won the Malaysian Grand Prix in wet weather condition. (Maldonado did not lead the Spanish Grand Prix in the first two stints, but both him and Alonzo pulled away from the rest).

The next race is Monaco Grand Prix. The track is narrow, and there are limited on track overtaking opportunities. Hence pole position is vital to the race victory.

In this case, things seem to be pointing towards Lewis Hamilton’s direction. But he will have to survive from the walls, traffic and safety cars!

Please read the latest blog update for more information.

The following are the odds for the driver and constructor’s championship after Spanish Grand Prix.

Driver’s Championship:

Vettel (61pts): 3.30

Hamilton (53pts): 3.50

Alonzo (61pts): 5.00

Button (45pts): 7.00

Raikkonen (49pts): 8.00

Webber (48pts): 19.00

Rosberg (35pts): 21.00

Maldonado (29pts): 67.00

Schumacher (2pts): 67.00

Grojean (35pts): 34.00

Perez (22pts): 301.00

Constructor’s Championship:

McLaren (98pts): 1.83

Red Bull (109pts): 2.60

Lotus Renault(84pts): 6.00

Ferrari (63pts): 34.00

Mercedes (43pts): 34.00

Sauber (41pts): 151.00

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2012 – Post Race Betting Analysis

Monday, May 14, 2012

The 2012 F1 championship has shifted back to Europe, but the first European race of the year has produced even more unbelievable results!

Pastor Maldonado led Williams to their first victory since 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix.

He is also the fifth race winner in five races this year!

Maldonado’s odds to win the race after qualifying were $10.00! This is the biggest upset so far this season in dry racing conditions.

Fernando Alonzo’s odds of $51.00 prior to the start of a wet weather affected Malaysian Grand Prix is the biggest race winning upset this year!

For more odds prior to the race, please read F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2012 – Post Qualifying Betting Guide.

Alonzo once again took the race lead in front of his home crowd straight after the race start, but unfortunately he was held up by back marker traffic just before the second pit stop. Which made him give the race lead back to Maldonado.

Raikkonen was the bookmakers’ favrouite to win the race after qualifying ($4.00), but once again Lotus’ strategy might have cost him a second place finish or possibly a race win.

Everyone started the race on the soft tyres, and switched to the hard tyres after the first pit stop. But as opposed to the rest of the field, Lotus took the gamble by putting on another sets of soft tyres.

Both Raikkonen and Grojean started to fall behind in the second stint of the race. The strategy was proven to be a mistake once they bolted on the sets of hard tyres. They were immediately doing faster lap times.

Raikkonen took 10 seconds off Alonzo in the final stint of the race. He finished around three seconds behind Alonzo.

The best race strategy in Spanish Grand Prix was three stops. Hamilton was the only top ten finisher that did two stops. It was a great drive for Hamilton, who started the race from last, and finished eighth.

This was a predicted results from the experts, as Hamilton’s odds to finish the race within top ten were below $2.00 prior to the race, which did not seem to be worth the investment.

The next race is Monaco Grand Prix – the famous track around the streets of Monte Carlo. We might yet see another upset winner there, but just like Circuit de Catalunya in Spanish GP, the track is pole position friendly!

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2012 – Post Qualifying Betting Guide

Saturday, May 12, 2012

The Spanish Grand Prix qualifying was a thriller. Usually by this stage of the championship it is obvious which teams are the front runners and which teams have work to do. But the Pirelli tyres have made this year’s championship interesting.

Lewis Hamilton had qualified on pole, but was given a penalty for fuel quantity irregularity. He will start the race from the back of the grid. And on top of that, he will not have the luxury of having fresh soft tyres to start the race with.

Maldonado was hence promoted to pole position. He will start the race alongside Alonzo, who will have the local crowd cheering for him during the race.

A significant variable factor to the race is that the air temperature is forecast to be lower. This will once again stir up the order during the race.

Maldonado’s odds to win the race are as high as $10.00, and Alonzo is the second favourite for race win at $4.33.

Last year Alonzo also had a brilliant start to the race, but his pace was affected by the stints of hard tyres. He finished the race one minute behind the race winner. The same will likely happen on Sunday.

The favourite driver to win the race will start the race from fourth – Kimi Raikkonen. Who is paying $4.00 to win Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Judging from Lotus’ performance so far this year, they are most likely to win the race. Even with the fact that track temperature will be lower during the race.

Grojean will start the race from third, and his odds for podium finish looks very good at $2.20. Given he finished third last race and Lotus really proved to have long distance race pace.

Grojean’s podium bet at $2.20 is probably the safest betting option with reasonable reward!

Red Bull played it strategically in Q3, choosing not to set a lap time so they can choose which tyres to start the race. We will see how this strategy works during the race. Vettel is paying as high as Grojean for podium finish.

Button and Webber both failed to qualify into Q3, but they saved some tyres that way. They are in good position to gain some places during the race.

It will probably be another four stops race. We will have to see how this one will pan out!

Latest Weather Forecast

Sunday – Partly Cloudy, 16~21 degrees Celsius

Please check the latest blog update for more information.

Post Qualifying Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Raikkonen: 4.00

Alonzo: 4.33

Grojean: 6.50

Vettel: 6.50

Maldonado: 10.00

Button: 11.00

Webber: 17.00

Hamilton: 17.00

Rosberg: 23.00

Perez: 23.00

Schumacher: 26.00

Kobayashi: 51.00

Massa: 126.00

Podium

Raikkonen: 1.65

Alonzo: 1.67

Grojean: 2.20

Vettel: 2.20

Button: 3.80

Webber: 4.00

Hamilton: 7.40

Rosberg: 7.40

Schumacher: 8.80

Perez: 10.20

Kobayashi: 16.50

Massa: 34.00

Points

Maldonado: 1.36

Massa: 3.10

Senna: 3.10

Di Resta: 3.75

Hulkenberg: 4.33

Ricciardo: 5.00

Vergne: 5.00

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2012 – Post Friday Practice Betting Guide

Saturday, May 12, 2012

On the first day of action in Spanish GP, it looked like the pace between McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Lotus were closely matched.

Mercedes and Red Bull seemed to be able to hvae the upper hand in qualifying, where as Lotus’ race pace looked impressive.

The drivers’ odds have mostly shortened after the Friday practice sessions, but the orders have not changed.

In contrast Lewis Hamilton’s odds have gone from $3.75 before Friday, to currently $4.50.

Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grojean’s podium bets still look like good investments. Although they might not have the chance to qualify on pole position, their consistent pace on the long runs on Friday shows they can potentially gain some track positions in pit stops during the race!

Raikkonen’s podium odds are $2.43, and Grojean’s are $4.00!

The track temperature was as high as 44 degrees Celsius on Friday, but it is forecast to be lower on Sunday. Hence this might bring some variables to the race pace of Mercedes.

Ferrari still has some catch up work to do. We will see whether their hard works in the past three weeks have brought them any closer to the front runners.

Alonzo is currently paying $3.16 for podium, and Massa is paying $2.10 to finish in top 10.

Latest Weather Forecast

Saturday – Sunny, 17~25 degrees Celsius

Sunday – Partly Cloudy, 16~21 degrees Celsius

Post Friday Practice Sessions Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Vettel: 3.75

Hamilton: 4.50

Button: 5.00

Raikkonen: 6.50

Webber: 10.00

Alonzo: 10.00

Grojean: 13.00

Rosberg: 21.00

Schumacher: 26.00

Massa: 61.00

Perez: 151.00

Kobayahi: 151.00

Podium

Vettel: 1.51

Hamilton: 1.76

Button: 1.76

Raikkonen: 2.43

Alonzo: 3.16

Webber: 3.46

Grojean: 4.00

Rosberg: 5.20

Schumacher: 6.75

Massa: 27.00

Perez: 52.00

Kobayashi: 52.00

Points

Massa: 2.10

Perez: 2.10

Kobayashi: 2.25

Senna: 2.75

Maldonado: 2.75

Di Resta: 2.75

Hulkenberg: 3.60

Ricciardo: 4.33

Vergne: 4.33

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2012 – Pre Weekend Betting Guide

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The following are the variable factors to the race that a punter must consider before placing a bet.

Tyre Compounds: Soft/Hard

Weather Forecast

Friday – Sunny, 18 ~26 degrees Celsius

Saturday – Mostly Sunny, 18 ~26 degrees Celsius

Sunday – Partly Cloudy, 17 ~21 degrees Celsius

Almost every team will have major upgrade to their cars this weekend. McLaren has a significant update on their nose. They will use the higher nose that was seen at the Mugello test last week.

This track has a very high pole position to race win probability. Although it is difficult to judge who will win pole position at this stage, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton are the equal favourites to win pole position and the race double in sportsbet.

The winner of the previous race in Bahrain was Vettel. Hence he is now the favourite to win Spanish GP at the odds of $3.50. Hamilton is right behind in $3.75.

Hamilton usually qualifies better than his teammate Button, hence on the track where pole position is significant to winning the race, Hamilton has the upper hand to Button.

Kimi Raikkonen almost won the last race in Bahrain, his current race winning odds are $8.50, and his podium odds are $2.95. Lotus Renault has been one of the most consistent teams with their pace this season, only were they held back by poor strategy decisions and crashes with other cars. If they can get the strategy right and stay away from the other cars this weekend in Barcelona, Raikkonen’s $2.95 looks like a good deal!

Please check the latest blog update for more information.

Pre Weekend Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Vettel: 3.50

Hamilton: 3.75

Button: 5.00

Raikkonen: 8.50

Webber: 11.00

Alonzo: 17.00

Grojean: 17.00

Rosberg: 19.00

Schumacher: 21.00

Massa: 101.00

Perez: 151.00

Kobayashi: 201.00

Podium

Vettel: 1.60

Hamilton: 1.62

Button: 1.76

Raikkonen: 2.95

Webber: 3.46

Alonzo: 4.40

Grojean: 4.80

Rosberg: 4.80

Schumacher: 5.20

Massa: 34.00

Perez: 52.00

Kobayashi: 52.00

Points

Massa: 2.10

Perez: 2.10

Kobayashi: 2.25

Maldonado: 2.75

Di Resta: 2.75

Senna: 2.75

Hulkenberg: 3.60

Ricciardo: 4.33

Vergne: 4.33

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F1 Spanish Grand Prix 2012

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Formula One championship will officially kick off its European season this weekend in Barcelona, Spain.

Following the three weeks break and an in season testing in Mugello, there will be significant upgrades to the cars in this race.

This is the most familiar track to all the F1 teams. They also conducted winter testing here. The results of this race will be a true indication on the progress of development on each team.

This week Pirelli will has the soft and the hard compounds of tyres.

Until the introduction of DRS and Pirelli tyres last year, this track had been well known for its lack of overtaking opportunities. There were 90 overtaking moves last year, as opposed to less than five overtaking moves from the year before.

The chance for pole position to race victory here is as high as 76%.

The race winning strategy last year was four stops by Sebastian Vettel. He held off Lewis Hamilton’s late charge on the final laps.

Hamilton also did four stops and finished second, but his teammate Button did three stops to finish third.

Mark Webber started from pole position, but only managed to finish fourth.

Fernando Alonzo had a brilliant start to the race. He started fourth and by the exit of Turn 2 he already was leading the race. The move brought the Spanish spectators to their feet!

Unfortunately his Ferrari was unable to keep up with the pace as soon as he switched onto the hard tyres.

The following are the features of The Spanish GP Circuit:

First Race: 1991

Track Length: 4.65 km

Laps: 66

Corners: 16

Direction: Clockwise

Lap Record: 1:21:670 Kimi Raikkonen, 2008

Full Throttle: 58%

Time spent on Braking: 12%

Fuel Consumption: 2.34kg/Lap

Gear Changes per Lap: 44

Pit Lane Time: 19 sec (not including pit stop)

Safety Car Probability: 40%

Winners From Pole Position: 16 (out of 21 races)

Last Year’s Winner: Sebastian Vettel

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2012 F1 Championship First Stint Analysis

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

The first four fly away races on the 2012 Formula One season are over. At this point of the championship, it is almost impossible to tell which teams are fast, and which teams are not. But here are some clues that might help you to understand and analyse the trend of the 2012 Championship.

The first four races have produced four different race winners.

The race winners were Button, Alonzo, Rosberg and Vettel respectively. Their odds before the races were exceptionally attractive compare to last year when Vettel was winning almost every single race.

Button: $3.25
Alonzo: $51.00
Rosberg: $4.00
Vettel: $2.50

This shows just about every race, the winner is a surprise. Especially Alonzo in the wet weather affected Malaysian GP!

The only consistency on the championship so far is Mark Webber, who finished fourth in each of the four races.

Lewis Hamilton has had two pole positions, but did not convert any of them into race win. Although he finished third consistently in the first three races.

After winning the Bahrain GP, Sebastian Vettel is now the championship leader with 53 points. He also finished second in Australia.

The results of the championship so far revealed that each car’s performance were highly dependent on how one could adapt to the tyres and track condition.

McLaren looked like the team to beat in the first two races in Australia and Malaysia. But surprisingly they had no answer for Red Bull and Lotus Renault when the championship shifted to Bahrain.

Continuing from last year, Sauber still had very good tyre wear during the race. The second place finish by Sergio Perez in the wet weather affected Malaysian GP has showed us where to put our money this year if there is another wet race.

Lotus Renault has showed some serious race pace. But their results so far have been plagued by DNFs and poor strategy decisions.

Up until the third race in Chinese GP, Romain Grojean had only done five race laps due to crashes in Australian GP and Malaysian GP.

Kimi Raikkonen started Australian GP 17^th, and finished 7^th, which was a great effort.

However, he was running second in Chinese Grand Prix before his tyres gave up with 9 laps to go. He finished 14^th eventually.

And Raikkonen would have won Bahrain GP if his teammate Grojean did not hold him up for a few laps.

The F1 Championship so far has produced a completely different result to last year. Unlike last year, we are heading back to Europe without knowing which team is hot and which team is not.

With the narrow operating window in the Pirelli tyres, we are certain to see some more surprises in the championship. But just like any other year, it is only a matter of time before the engineers figure out how to master the performance of the Pirelli tyres.

When that happens, there will be clear winners before the race.

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F1 Championship Betting Odds Update – Post Bahrain Grand Prix 2012

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

After Bahrain Grand Prix, there is once again a new championship leader. And this means the bookmakers’ favrouite to win the driver’s title has changed too.

Sebastian Vettel now leads the championship and is paying $2.75 to win the title. His odds at the end of Chinese Grand Prix were $5.00.

The other driver who had significant change to the odds was Kimi Raikkonen. After a second place finish in Bahrain, his odds have dropped from $41.00 to $17.00.

This does not make him a serious contender yet, but if he continues to deliver the way he did in Bahrain, his odds will certainly drop shorter than $10.00 soon!

Romain Grojean’s odds have also dropped from $126.00 to $51.00 after a third place finish!

The following are the odds for the driver and constructor’s championship.

Driver’s Championship:

Vettel (53pts): 2.75

Hamilton (49pts): 3.40

Button (43pts): 4.50

Rosberg (35pts): 13.00

Alonzo (43pts): 15.00

Webber (48pts): 15.00

Raikkonen (34pts): 17.00

Schumacher (2pts): 41.00

Grojean (23pts): 51.00

Perez (22pts): 201.00

Massa (2pts): 401.00

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F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2012 – Post Race Betting Analysis

Monday, April 23, 2012

The first four races in Formula One 2012 season have produced unbelievable results. At the conclusion of the first fly away stint of the championship, it is hard to conclude who is fast and who is not.

On Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix, we almost saw the biggest race victory upset in years.

Kimi Raikkonen started the race 11^th, but was faster than anyone else including the race leader Sebastian Vettel for almost the entire race. His odds to win the race after qualifying were as long as $51.00, and podium finish were $7.00.

Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole position, and did just enough to claim his first race win of the year. His odds to win the race after qualifying were $2.50.

Romain Grojean finished third, and his odds for podium after qualifying were $6.50.

Mark Webber once again finished fourth. Perhaps the bookmakers should create a betting option on whether he will finish fourth from now on!

For more odds before the race, please go to F1 Bahrain Grand Prix – Post Qualifying Betting Guide, Post Friday Practice Betting Guide and Pre Weekend Betting Guide.

In contrast to last week’s Chinese GP where the top three finishers were all Mercedes powered cars, this week they were all Renault powered. This shows how close the championship battle is this year.

McLaren was considered to be the fastest team overall prior to Bahrain GP, but they had a disappointing race. Jenson Button was unhappy with the car’s balance all weekend, and Hamilton had two slow pit stops during the race.

Hamilton finished the race eighth and Button had to retire due to mechanical failure.

Mercedes once again looked strong in practice sessions, but were ordinary on race day.

Schumacher failed to make it to Q2 on Saturday, and later had to change gearbox hence the five place grid penalty. At least he finished tenth and claimed one championship point.

Nico Rosberg finished fifth, but made two controversial moves during the race.

Ferrari was not so impressive as it has been this season, but at least Massa finished in top ten (eighth) and scored some championship points.

Most top ten finishers used three stops strategy. Most took on the medium compound in the second stint, only Raikkonen went the opposite way and took the set of soft tyres. This allowed him to overtake Webber and his teammate Grojean.

However after the second pit stop when Vettel took on a set of soft tyres and Raikkonen on a set of medium tyres, it was proven Vettel’s race victory chance was under serious threat. As Raikkoen was able to match Vettel’s lap times.

Unfortunately Raikkonen had to slow down to conserve fuel in the final stint of the race, but ironically Vettel fuel tank was emptied as soon as he crossed the line.

Who knows what would happen if Kimi just pressure on Vettel for few more laps?

Vettel is now the championship leader with 53 points. As the championship is moving back to Europe, let’s see who else can be race winners this season!

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F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2012 – Post Qualifying Betting Guide

Sunday, April 22, 2012

The fourth grand prix into the 2012 championship, the reigning F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel has finally taken a pole position. Which is uncharacteristic when compared to his dominance in qualifying last season.

On a track that historically does not provide many overtaking opportunities, and given the fact that Red Bull has been faster on race days this year so far, Vettel is certainly the favourite to win Bahrain Grand Prix at this stage. His odds are $2.50.

We are very likely to see a fourth GP winner in four races this year!

Lewis Hamilton had a flying lap in the end of Q3, but unfortunately he was only good enough to push Webber off P2.

Hamilton’s odds are $3.10, and the race strategy from the McLaren garage will be interesting.

In last week’s Chinese GP, McLaren was only the one of the few teams that put on the sets of soft tyres in the second stint. Where as the majority put on the medium tyres. This might help them to gain some positions when coming out of the pit stops.

This also might turn out once again to be the race between two stops and three stops.

As the simulation predicts two stops to be the quicker way, but tyre degradation will be a major issue especially when driving closely behind another car.

Hence the two stops strategy is only suitable for Vettel at this stage, who is likely to be the leader after turn one.

Jenson Button qualified fourth, but his odds to win the race are shorter than Mark Webber’s, who qualified third.

Button has been faster on race days this season than qualifying. Button is $6.00, and Webber is $8.50

After his maiden race victory a week ago, Nico Rosberg will start the race fifth. There are more challenges ahead of him during the race. He has one more set of fresh tyres, but we will see how long the Pirelli tyres will survive on his Mercedes.

Daniel Ricciard had a brilliant qualifying session. He will start the race sixth. His odds for points finish are $2.20.

The chance of safety car is extremely low on this track, hence there is less chance of massive changes in positions during the race. The orders should be quite stable after the first lap.

Latest Weather Forecast

Sunday – Sunday, 20~31 degrees Celsius

Please check the latest blog update for more information.

Post Qualifying Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Vettel: 2.50

Hamilton: 3.10

Button: 6.00

Webber: 8.50

Rosberg: 12.00

Raikkonen: 51.00

Schumacher: 67.00

Alonzo: 51.00

Grojean: 51.00

Perez: 81.00

Kobayashi: 151.00

Massa: 251.00

Podium

Vettel: 1.40

Hamilton: 1.53

Button: 1.72

Webber: 2.37

Rosberg: 3.25

Grojean: 6.50

Raikkonen: 7.00

Alonzo: 9.50

Perez: 11.00

Schumacher: 12.00

Kobayashi: 15.00

Ricciardo: 21.00

Massa: 51.00

Points

Grojean: 1.45

Di Resta: 2.00

Ricciardo: 2.20

Hulkenberg: 3.00

Senna: 3.00

Maldonado: 4.00

Vergne: 4.50

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F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2012 – Post Friday Practice Betting Guide

Saturday, April 21, 2012

The fourth grand prix of the season have got underway, and it is the usual scene on Friday’s practice sessions.

The two practice sessions were topped by Hamilton and Rosberg.

The odds have mostly shortened a little as the race day is getting closer, but the orders have not changed.

Some drivers have said that tyre degradation will be an issue during the race. Once again the driver that can look after the tyres better will have better chance in winning the Bahrain GP!

Lewis Hamilton still remains the favourite for the race win at $3.00.

Jenson Button once again had a bit of work to do with the car’s set up on Friday. His results on Friday were not brilliant. His odds have lengthened from $3.40 before Friday to $3.75 currently. But he is still looking good to win the race, as he is well known for conserving tyres.

Nico Rosberg is the third favourite. His odds are $6.00, but he has expressed concerns about Mercedes’ race pace. The issue is obviously the tyre degradation once again.

Sebastian Vettel’s odds are longer than Rosberg’s, but he is likely to have better result than Rosberg this weekend. As Red Bull seems to be quicker in higher track temperature conditions, and Mercedes is the opposite.

On the Podium Finish betting option, only the two McLaren drivers are under $2.00, Vettel and Webber both have a great chance to finish on podium on Sunday. But it will be down to where they start the race!

Latest Weather Forecast

Saturday – Sunny, 19~31 degrees Celsius

Sunday – Sunny, 20~32 degrees Celsius

Post Friday Practice Sessions Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Hamilton: 3.00

Button: 3.75

Rosberg: 6.00

Vettel: 8.00

Schumacher: 11.00

Webber: 13.00

Raikkonen: 21.00

Alonzo: 23.00

Grojean: 41.00

Perez: 51.00

Kobayahi: 67.00

Massa: 201.00

Podium

Hamilton: 1.50

Button: 1.62

Vettel: 2.50

Rosberg: 2.25

Schumacher: 3.25

Webber: 3.75

Raikkonen: 5.00

Alonzo: 7.00

Grojean: 9.00

Perez: 9.50

Kobayashi: 10.00

Massa: 41.00

Points

Perez: 1.67

Kobayashi: 1.67

Senna: 2.10

Maldonado: 2.20

Di Resta: 3.00

Hulkenberg: 3.00

Ricciardo: 5.00

Vergne: 5.00

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F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2012 – Pre Weekend Betting Guide

Thursday, April 19, 2012

The following are the variable factors to the race that a punter must consider before placing a bet.

Tyre Compounds: Soft/Medium

Weather Forecast

Friday – Sunny, 19 ~32 degrees Celsius

Saturday – Sunny, 20 ~31 degrees Celsius

Sunday – Sunny, 20 ~31 degrees Celsius

This is the hottest weather condition we have seen yet in this year’s championship.

Mercedes has proven they can win race in cool track temperature condition in Shanghai last week, but we will have to see about Bahrain this weekend. They overheated the tyres in Australian GP, and this weekend the track temperature is going to be even higher.

The two McLaren drivers are still the top two favourites to win at this stage. Hamilton is $3.00, and Button is $3.40.

Red Bull will likely have better result this weekend, as their cars should be faster in high track temperature conditions. Vettel’s odds for podium finish are $2.80, and Webber’s are $4.00.

Hamilton and Button are the only two drivers with the odds shorter than $2.00 for podium finish.

If Mercedes struggles with the tyre temperature, one of the Red Bull drivers should fill up the final spot on podium.

The odds for Rosberg and Schumacher have shortened significantly after Rosberg’s race victory in Chinese GP last weekend.

This time last week, Rosberg’s race winnining odds were $26.00, it is now $8.50.

Schumacher’s race winning odds were $23.00, it is now $11.00

Alonzo did not follow up his Malaysian GP race win with a promising result in Chinese GP, his odds to win the race are now back to $21.00. As oppose to $12.00 this time last week.

Please check the latest blog update for more information.

Pre Weekend Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Hamilton: 3.00

Button: 3.40

Rosberg: 8.50

Vettel: 9.00

Schumacher: 11.00

Webber: 13.00

Raikkonen: 17.00

Alonzo: 21.00

Grojean: 41.00

Perez: 51.00

Kobayashi: 67.00

Massa: 201.00

Podium

Hamilton: 1.45

Button: 1.45

Rosberg: 2.88

Vettel: 2.80

Schumacher: 3.50

Webber: 4.00

Raikkonen: 4.50

Alonzo: 6.00

Grojean: 8.50

Perez: 9.00

Kobayashi: 10.00

Massa: 41.00

Points

Perez: 1.62

Kobayashi: 1.67

Maldonado: 2.00

Senna: 2.63

Hulkenberg: 4.00

Ricciardo: 3.50

Vergne: 3.50

Di Resta: 4.00

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F1 Bahrain Grand Prix 2012

Thursday, April 19, 2012

With much controversy, the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix was only certain to go ahead in no more than two weeks ago.

There are some significant changes to the track and F1 since the last time a F1 race was held in this Sahkir circuit.

In 2010, F1 had a different tyre manufacturer in Bridgestone. The fastest race strategy two years ago was shockingly one stop strategy.

The Pirelli tyres were purposely designed not to last the entire race distance, hence we will certainly see minimum of two stops from most drivers this weekend.

The simulator suggest two stops is quickest way, but this simulation is based on if there is clear traffic the entire race.

We will likely see a mix of two and three stops this weekend.

The circuit layout has also changed since 2010. It was a longer second stint back then. But the layout has been changed back to what it was before 2010 – the shorter version. Which we will see the cars lap around 1min 30 seconds instead of 1min 50 seconds.

The changes in tyre supplier and track layout means this week the teams are stepping into an unknown territory.

This week Pirelli will have the soft and the medium compound. Which is the same compounds as the previous race – Chinese GP.

Track temperature is always a concern in Bahrain. Being in the middle of the desert, we are likely to see the hottest track temperature on this year’s championship!

McLaren and Red Bull are considered to be the faster car in hotter conditions. Hence we will probably have a different race result to what we saw in Chinese GP!

The following are the features of Bahrain GP Circuit:

First Race: 2004

Track Length: 5.41 km

Laps: 57

Corners: 15

Direction: Clockwise

Lap Record: 1:30:252 Michael Schumacher, 2004

Full Throttle: 67%

Time spent on Braking: 16%

Fuel Consumption: 2.6kg/L

Gear Changes per Lap: 58

Pit Lane Time: 18.6sec (not including pit stop)

Safety Car Probability: 14%

Winners From Pole Position: 3 (out of 7 races)

Last Race Winner: Fernando Alonzo

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F1 Championship Betting Odds Update – Post Chinese Grand Prix 2012

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Three races of Formula One this year have produced three different winners.

On the championship points system that rewards race winners, currently it is the most consistent driver that is leading the championship.

Lewis Hamilton is now the championship leader with no race wins so far, but he has finished all three races in third position.

His odds still remain in $2.88, and he now leads the championship by only two points from his teammate Jenson Button.

Button’s odds have dropped from $3.50 to $3.00 after the Chinese GP.

This could well be the season we see the two McLaren drivers going head to head at each other. The atmosphere between the two sides of the McLaren garage will only get tenser and tenser from this point onward.

After a great drive and a race win, Nico Rosberg’s odds to win the driver’s title has shortened from $41.00 to $13.00. It is a massive change, but the odds still shows the bookmakers think he is a long way to winning the title this year.

Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel had a much better race than qualifying. But he once again finished behind teammate Webber. His odds have gone up to $5.00 from $3.75.

The following are the odds for the driver and constructor’s championship.

Driver’s Championship:

Hamilton (45pts): 2.88

Button (43pts): 3.00

Vettel (28pts): 5.00

Alonzo (37pts): 11.00

Rosberg (25pts): 13.00

Webber (36pts): 15.00

Schumacher (1pts): 26.00

Raikkonen (16pts): 41.00

Grojean (8pts): 126.00

Perez (22pts): 126.00

Massa (0pts): 401.00

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F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012 – Post Race Betting Analysis

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai once again produced an exciting Formula One race.

Nico Rosberg grabbed his maiden victory in Formula One, and he proved that Mercedes can make their tyres work on race day.

Due to the poor results on the previous two races, there were many doubts on whether Mercedes have solved the problem with tyre degradation during the race. Despite starting the race from pole position, the bookmakers still gave Rosbergs the odds of $4.00 to win the race.

Jenson Button was close to steal the race victory from Rosberg. Only his chance was destroyed by a slow final pit stop. Which put him behind the Raikkonen train after the pit stop.

Once in clear traffic, Button was lapping around one second quicker than Rosberg. Unfortunately it was too late to make the difference. Button disappointedly finished second. His odds for podium finish were $1.91.

Lewis Hamilton had a strong weekend. He qualified second, but had to start the race seventh due to the penalty of changing gearbox. He was the victim to the traffic too, but he managed to overtake Vettel in the final laps of the race to grab the final spot on the podium. His odds for podium finish were $2.00.

The strategies for this race were interesting. Rosberg, Raikkonen and Vettel did two stops, Button and Hamilton did three stops.

Although the race winning strategy was two stops, those who used two stops strategy were once again vulnerable on the final stint.

Rosberg’s race lead would have been challenged by Button had he not have a slow pit stop.

Raikkonen was second in the final stint of the race, but finished the race 14^th.

Vettel was too ahead of both Button and Hamilton in the final stint, but lost positions to both McLaren drivers and his fellow teammate Webber. He finished the race fifth.

Once again Chinese Grand Prix is the race where engineers and strategists have to spend extra effort in analysing the result.

Three races into the 2012 championship, there have been three different race winners. And this is the only race where the winner came from pole position!

This year’s championship already sounds more exciting than last year!

For more odds prior to the race start, please see F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012 – Post Qualifying Betting Guide.

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F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012 – Post Qualifying Betting Guide

Saturday, April 14, 2012

After some strong performances in practice sessions and qualifying so far this year, Mercedes GP has finally converted them into pole position.

And both of their cars will start the Chinese Grand Prix from the front row!

The change in track temperature during the qualifying session contributed heavily to the result in qualifying.

The track temperature at the end of the session was 5 degrees lower than the beginning of the session.

The race will begin one hour later than qualifying on Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix. This will certainly bring more variable factors into the race results. As the track temperature will likely be even lower.

Nico Rosberg took his first ever pole position in Formula One. His odds to win the race are now $3.60.

However Mercedes so far this year has yet to capitalised their strong qualifying performance into the races. We will see whether they have learned the mistakes from the first two races on Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton qualified second, but will start the race from seventh due to the penalty in changing gearbox. Otherwise he would surely be the favourite to win the race.

His odds are $5.00, just second from Rosberg and on par with Button.

Furthermore, Hamilton’s odds for podium finish are $2.00. Which looks like a good investment. Given he looked very quick on high fuel load runs on Friday practice sessions.

Button will start the race two places ahead of Hamilton, and has shorter odds than Hamilton for podium finish. But historically his performance is not good under low track temperature condition.

The changes in track temperature happened to play into Rosberg’s hands on Saturday, but some usual front runners were caught out.

Sebastian Vettel failed to make it into Q3, Jenson Button and Mark Webber only managed to qualify on sixth and seventh respectively.

Kamui Kobayashi took advantage of it by qualifying fourth, and will start the race from third.

Kimi Raikkonen had a strong qualifying session too, he will start the race from fourth.

Latest Weather Forecast

Sunday – Mostly Cloudy, 13~19 degrees Celsius

Please check the latest blog update for more information.

Post Qualifying Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Rosberg: 4.00

Hamilton: 5.00

Button: 5.00

Schumacher: 6.00

Raikkonen: 8.50

Kobayashi: 12.00

Webber: 15.00

Vettel: 23.00

Perez: 26.00

Alonzo: 41.00

Grojean: 41.00

Massa: 151.00

Podium

Rosberg: 1.72

Schumacher: 1.83

Button: 1.91

Hamilton: 2.00

Raikkonen: 2.88

Kobayashi: 3.75

Webber: 5.00

Vettel: 6.00

Alonzo: 7.00

Perez: 8.00

Grojean: 13.00

Massa: 51.00

Points

Grojean: 1.72

Maldonado: 2.63

Di Resta: 2.63

Hulkenberg: 2.75

Senna: 3.10

Ricciardo: 3.50

Vergne: 3.50

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F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012 – Post Friday Practice Betting Guide

Friday, April 13, 2012

Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher topped Friday’s practice session one and two respectively.

Although session one was interrupted by wet weather, most drivers managed to still go out and set the fast lap times by the end of sessions.

Overall, Lewis Hamilton looked the fastest on Friday. However he will suffer five place grid penalty on Sunday’s race due to change in gearbox. He is now bookmaker’s second favourite driver to win the race – $4.50.

Although Jenson Button is the favourite – $2.88, the weakness of his driving style was exposed on Friday – he struggles to warm up the tyres in low track temperature conditions. This is going to be critical for his chance of race win on Sunday.

Mercedes once again was quick on Friday. They have a very good chance to start the race on pole position – after Hamilton’s penalty. But their pace on the race day will be a concern.

Red Bull still looked the second fastest team. Vettel and Webber both tried different set ups on Friday. They have a good chance to win this weekend, as Hamilton will start the race no lower than fifth, and Button is struggling to find the right setup so far.

Vettel’s odds for race win are $5.00, and Webber’s are $11.00.

Ferrari still has not found the solution to their lack of overall pace. Massa once again is the driver having more trouble. Unlike last year, there is a suitable replacement of Sergio Perez waiting. Massa is under more pressure than ever.

Latest Weather Forecast

Saturday – Mostly Sunny, 12~19 degrees Celsius

Sunday – Cloudy, 13~19 degrees Celsius

Post Friday Practice Sessions Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Button: 2.88

Hamilton: 4.50

Alonzo: 12.00

Vettel: 5.00

Webber: 11.00

Schumacher: 12.00

Raikkonen: 15.00

Rosberg: 15.00

Grojean: 41.00

Perez: 41.00

Massa: 151.00

Kobayahi: 151.00

Podium

Button: 1.40

Hamilton: 1.57

Vettel: 1.72

Webber: 3.60

Alonzo: 4.33

Schumacher: 4.33

Rosberg: 5.50

Raikkonen: 5.50

Grojean: 10.00

Perez: 11.00

Massa: 26.00

Kobayashi: 26.00

Points

Perez: 1.72

Kobayashi: 2.00

Maldonado: 2.50

Senna: 2.50

Di Resta: 2.63

Hulkenberg: 2.75

Ricciardo: 3.50

Vergne: 3.50

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F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012 – Pre Weekend Betting Guide

Thursday, April 12, 2012

The following are the variable factors to the race that a punter must consider before placing a bet.

Tyre Compounds: Soft/Medium

Weather Forecast

Friday – Light rain, 10 ~15 degrees Celsius

Saturday – Mostly cloudy, 10 ~19 degrees Celsius

Sunday – AM showers, 13 ~18 degrees Celsius

The weather in Shanghai is much colder than there was in Kuala Lumpur three weeks ago.

McLaren still looks like they got the fastest car. The two McLaren drivers are the favourite to win at this stage. Hamilton is $3.00, and Button is $3.50.

Red Bull has so far showed they are better on the race days than qualifying, but Vettel has yet to have any luck this season, and Webber has had two fourth place finishes in a row.

Mercedes has showed some promising qualifying pace in the first two grand prix. But they have yet to get their tyres to work during the races. In Australia, their tyres temperature was too high, and in Malaysia the tyre temperature was too low. Let’s see if they can get it right this weekend in China.

After a tremendous drive of second place finish in Malaysia, Sergio Perez’s odds have now shortened by a huge margin. He is now paying $12.00 for podium finish. And $1.72 for points finish. His odds for podium finish were longer than $2.00 before the Malaysian Grand Prix practice sessions.

Despite winning the Malaysian Grand Prix, Fernando Alonzo is still rated behind the McLaren and Red Bull drivers to win the race.

Please check the latest blog update for more information.

Pre Weekend Betting Odds:

Race Winner

Hamilton: 3.00

Button: 3.50

Vettel: 5.00

Webber: 12.00

Alonzo: 12.00

Raikkonen: 17.00

Schumacher: 23.00

Rosberg: 26.00

Preze: 41.00

Grojean: 51.00

Massa: 151.00

Kobayashi: 151.00

Podium

Hamilton: 1.45

Button: 1.50

Vettel: 1.72

Alonzo: 3.00

Webber: 3.50

Raikkonen: 4.50

Rosberg: 7.00

Schumacher: 7.00

Grojean: 10.00

Perez: 12.00

Massa: 26.00

Kobayashi: 34.00

Points

Perez: 1.72

Kobayashi: 2.25

Maldonado: 2.55

Hulkenberg: 2.63

Di Resta: 2.63

Senna: 2.63

Ricciardo: 3.50

Vergne: 3.50

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F1 Chinese Grand Prix 2012

Monday, April 9, 2012

The Chinese Grand Prix track is another track designed by Hermann Tilke. Just like the Sepang Circuit in Malaysia, it features two long straights and some high speed corners.

Despite having many similarities to the Sepang Circuit, this circuit in Shanghai has less sever tyre wear.

This week Pirelli will have the soft and the medium compound. Which is different to Malaysian GP (Medium/Hard).

Last year’s Chinese Grand Prix was the turning point to the season, and it changed everyone’s perspective to race strategy.

The top three finishers last year each had different strategy. Hamilton and Webber did 3 stops, Vettel 2 stops.

Lewis Hamilton’s race winning strategy of doing only one run in Q3 and saving a set of fresh tyres for the latter stage of the race became the corner stone for the race strategists to approach the race for the rest of the season.

Mark Webber’s surprising result of 18^th race start to podium finish also opened up the minds for the mid fielders. He took the advantage of early elimination in qualifying, he was able to be faster than other front runners by having more sets of fresh tyres. It was from this race onwards we started seeing drivers like Alguersuari and Kobayashi whom continuously turn poor qualifying results into top 10 finishes in the races.

Sebastian Vettel’s plan of two stops strategy was interrupted by a poor start. Despite regaining the race lead later in the race, his old tyres were not able to keep him off Hamilton’s late race charge. He had to settle for second eventually. That was the first time the drop off in the performance of Pirelli tyres were evident.

Last year the DRS zone was in the second main straight, right after turn 13. It helped producing many overtaking moves last. There were 67 overtaking moves during the race, compare to 51 in Malaysia and 17 in Australia last year.

The following are the features of The Chinese GP Circuit:

First Race: 2004

Track Length: 5.45 km

Laps: 56

Corners: 16

Direction: Clockwise

Lap Record: 1:32:228 Michael Schumacher, 2004

Full Throttle: 62%

Time spent on Braking: 14%

Fuel Consumption: 2.55kg/L

Gear Changes per Lap: 55

Pit Lane Time: 17.5sec (not including pit stop)

Safety Car Probability: 43%

Winners From Pole Position: 4 (out of 8 races)

Last Year Winner: Lewis Hamilton

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F1 Championship Betting Odds Update – Post Malaysian Grand Prix 2012

Monday, April 2, 2012

The result of Malaysian Grand Prix brought significant changes to the odds for the driver’s championship.

Although Fernando Alonzo won the race and has now become the leader of the championship, the bookmakers strongly doubt his success will continue with the struggling Ferrari. His odds to win the driver’s title are $9.00.

Jenson Button claimed the maximum points available in Australia, but scored zero points in Malaysia. He is now the second favourite ($3.50) to win the driver’s title behind his fellow teammate – Lewis Hamilton ($2.88).

Hamilton took pole positions in the first two races, but in both occasions he finished the race third.

Sebastian as well did not have much luck in Malaysia, finished with no points. He is now behind his teammate Mark Webber in the driver’s standing. However the bookmakers still favour Vettel better than Webber.

The following are the odds for the driver and constructor’s championship.