Formula One / David Croft / 23 May 2008 / Leave a comment

The BBC's David Croft talks us through the betting as the crazy F1 circus reaches Monaco where Lewis Hamilton can make amends for last year's disappointment and Kovalainen can shine like a a £25,000 diamond ring.

Formula 1 weekend in Monaco and once again we're looking towards the heavens. Not just as the prospect of showers might disrupt qualifying and then Sunday's race, but also because the 5-live team have been promised a lift to the track on Saturday in the Martini Speedboat, which travelling at speed through the Mediterranean swell replicates the effect of large quantities of the aforementioned product in a fraction of the time.

I for one am very excited at the prospect of a speedboat trip to work, it's the kind of one-off mad moment that tends to rear it's head in these parts. We've also been invited to spend the evening at a party on board a £200 million yacht and trust me, that doesn't happen every night of the week. It's a weekend where Formula 1 is at it's most glamorous and despite the rather processional nature of recent races, I do hope this event never disappears from the calander.

As has become the custom for Mclaren, here in Monaco Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will wear diamond studded helmets for the race and for being good boys the two drivers have also been given a £25,000 diamond ring, all courtesy of sponsors Steinmetz. The big question is though, will the team have another sparkling performance on the track to match the F1 bling off it?

Certainly Lewis Hamilton expects so and on Wednesday the British driver was brimming with confidence as he talked about his expectations for the weekend. He has a touch of unfinished business here after last year's race where team orders kept him behind Fernando Alonso despite the fact that he was the quicker man. This year, judging by the rather glum expression on Heikki Kovalainen's face, the Finn may be expecting to play second fiddle. Add to that the fact that Lewis clearly enjoys the demands of this track and has also won 3 out of his 4 previous races here, and you can understand why he's best priced [3.15] for the race with Betfair and Kovalainen at [12.0].

Ferrari meanwhile - who appear to be a lot closer to Mclaren than they were this time last year - set the pace in first practice. Mclaren ended the practice day back in front with Lewis setting the fastest time of the day and Kimi Raikkonen complaining that the team had an issue with warming up their tyres quickly, a factor that could hamper their chance of bagging pole come qualifying. The defending champion, priced at [3.3] to win on Sunday, was confident however that the issue would be resolved.

But for those wishing to have a punt, watch the skies! The forecast for Saturday is a 60% chance of showers and for Sunday, a 90% chance of rain. Should it pelt down then the rubber gets washed away and the grip disappears and that could prove to be to Mclaren's advantage. And if it does rain, expect the safety car to be very busy. Betfair's market has a safety car appearance at [1.25] already.

Rain and the safety car during the race could also lead to an upset. Wet races often do, especially here.

So Fernando Alonso at [3.0] to finish on the podium - ignore his crash into the tyre barriers on Thursday - and Mark Webber at [11.0] to do the same, must be a consideration as well.

Alonso, winner here for the last two years, revels in the tightness of the track, Webber could have won here in 2006 had his Williams not failed him and has been uber consistent this season in a car that has improved leaps and bounds in terms of it's poor reliability. So it could be wide open and fans of Robert Kubica may feel confident about their man as well. The key for him is that he's outqualified his team-mate in every race so far and bar Australia, has finished ahead as well, so at a best price of [17.5], this throws the Pole into the mix.

So come Sunday afternoon, settle back and enjoy the unique spectacle that is the Monaco Grand Prix

Tags: David Croft, F1 betting, Lewis Hamilton, Monaco Grand Prix