Malaysian Grand Prix Betting: Hamilton poles but back Button

Formula One / James Frankland / 24 March 2012 /

" class="free_bet_btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">

Lewis Hamilton in Kuala Lumpur

"I’d lean towards Jenson given his renowned ability to keep his tyres in shape for longer than almost anyone else on the grid but, being on pole, Lewis cannot be discounted."

It's a British one two at the front of the grid with a former-champion lurking just behind. So does James Frankland anticipate another McLaren win in Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix?

Qualifying in Malaysia was a closely-fought affair with less than half a second covering the top eight on the grid, but it was the same story as in Melbourne up front with Lewis Hamilton in pole position from McLaren teammate Jenson Button.

Michael Schumacher qualified in third place, the Mercedes W03 performing much better due to its trick rear wing giving the drivers a speed advantage in qualifying trim, but it remains to be seen if Schumacher and fellow Silver Arrows pilot Nico Rosberg (8th on the grid) can translate that pace into tomorrow's race, with the rear wing advantage restricted to one zone on the track, as well as concerns about the Mercedes' tyre wear.

It was thought, going to a circuit that has much more of an aerodynamic bias compared to the stop-start nature of Albert Park a week ago, that Red Bull would feature strongly in the fight for pole position. However, fourth on the grid for Mark Webber and sixth for Sebastian Vettel is only a marginal improvement on their showing in Australia, although Vettel has qualified on the harder tyre and this may give him an advantage in tomorrow's race.

Come rain or shine tomorrow - and rain is always a possibility here with pockets of torrential rain forming seemingly from nowhere - I expect to see the McLaren duo scrapping for victory again. I'd lean towards Jenson given his renowned ability to keep his tyres in shape for longer than almost anyone else on the grid but, being on pole, Lewis cannot be discounted either. That said, his best result here is second place way back in 2007 so perhaps Sepang is destined to be one of his bogey tracks?

Looking at potential podium finishers, the tyre wear issues surrounding Mercedes would tend to rule out Schumacher so I'd look at the Red Bull duo. Vettel, who qualified sixth but will start fifth after Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen earned a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change, could be well-placed to take advantage if he can hang onto the leading pack with his hard tyres. If so, he'll be able to take a set of the faster medium tyres when everyone else is on the hards and pick people off later in the race. Seb is at [1.81] to finish on the rostrum while Webber is longer at [2.5] and could provide the better option if Vettel's tyre gamble fails to pay off.

Points finishers can be tricky to forecast in the early part of the season, as there hasn't been enough running to establish a true picture of the competitive order. We can say though that Williams have made a step forward, enough to be considered for a top 10 finish with Pastor Maldonado starting 11th and [2.1] to score a point. He was on course for sixth in Australia only to lose the car on the final lap while battling with Fernando Alonso, and will surely not allow a similar mistake to befall him again should points beckon tomorrow.

Finally, Button's availability at [4.4] to set fastest lap in the Malaysian Grand Prix is worthy of consideration. Jenson's fastest tour in Australia was more than 0.2s quicker than Vettel, Webber and Hamilton, showing the Briton is well and truly leading the pack so far.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>