European GP Betting: McLarens back in business

Formula One / Scott Ferguson / 22 August 2009 / Leave a Comment

Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will be occupying the first two positions on the grid in Valencia.

"Hamilton took pole comfortably and with team-mate Kovalainen alongside on the front row, the race is McLaren's to lose. Nice to see them back to their best, but it snuffs out most betting opportunities."

Both McLarens will be on the front grid in Valencia and it's theirs to lose in theory but with only one previous race to go by at the Spanish circuit, it's one to approach cautiously on the betting front, says Scott Ferguson.

A street circuit around the docks of Valencia is an unusual way to restart the season - it's not as tight as Monaco, nor as fast as the Nurburgring. It has a long straight as well as plenty of slow corners, and based on early season form, that should suit the KERS cars with extra energy, the Brawns who need warm weather but not Red Bull who prefer faster bends.

Coming into the break, the tide had turned with Jenson Button's 'unassailable' lead starting to be eaten away (much to the applause of bookies who laid 66/1 for the title) by the Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber, and in the last race in Hungary, Lewis Hamilton finally had a competitive car again, taking the chequered flag with the Ferrari of Raikkonen close behind. Which made this race wide open...in theory.

The Brawns, McLarens and the Renault of Alonso set the pace on Friday, with the Force Indias also relishing the street circuit. But the momentum had been with Lewis Hamilton, and it was proven in qualifying. The McLaren team are now buzzing that they have got their cars back on the pace, while this season's front-runners seem to have gone hard early in the marathon and are now gasping for breath.

Hamilton took pole comfortably and with team-mate Kovalainen alongside on the front row, the race is McLaren's to lose. Nice to see them back to their best, but it snuffs out most betting opportunities. Normally I'd look at winning margin and number of classified finishers, but with only one previous race on the circuit, it would be guessing at best. With a McLaren 1-2 likely, you would think the winning margin could be stretched (support driver hanging back to give no.1 driver plenty of space between him and rival drivers) but it could just be the Woking-based vehicles are so far clear of the rest they could run together.

No bet recommended, watch this race with a view to future races.