Tag: Vettel

Mercedes Hamilton on Pole but Ferrari Star Vettel the Danger

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Lewis Hamilton will start favourite to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after posting yet another pole position around the Melbourne street circuit at Albert Park – his fourth in four years.

But he might not have everything his own way after Ferrari’s former world champion Sebastian Vettel pulled out a blistering lap of his own in the final seconds of the qualifying to snare second spot on the 20 car grid.

The Ferraris had shown themselves to be more competitive in winter testing than they had been in 2016, and both Vettel and his team mate Kimi Raikkonen (another former world champion) are well placed to take the challenge up to Hamilton and his Mercedes team-mate Bottas, who was third fastest.

At $4.60 on Betfair fixed odds, Vettel might be the value investment, while those looking for a more enticing wager could be tempted by the $11 available with both Sportsbet and Bet 365 on Bottas should anything happen to Hamilton’s car.

Bottas in for the Fight

Certainly, the Finn is up for the challenge.

”Third is not ideal – I think in general I’m not happy for the result,” said Bottas, whose previous best qualifying in Australia was sixth.

” I didn’t quite get any perfect laps in, so I’m not that satisfied. But tomorrow is the day that matters – it seems that we have been quite strong on the practice starts, so hopefully we can keep that going tomorrow.”

Hamilton is Expecting a Fierce Contest

” As you can see it’s going to be a close race between us (Mercedes and Ferrari) this year I think.”

Vettel too sounded in confident enough mood. The German is a four-time world title winner and has won in Melbourne before, so he too took plenty of confidence from his strong qualifying run.

”We are working well as a team. I wasn’t entirely happy with my final lap, and tomorrow I hope we can do something.

“We are fired up about tomorrow’s race. The confidence was there from testing and it has been a big winter for us.”

Ricciardo’s Nightmare

Any patriotic punters who splurged on Daniel Ricciardo to fly the flag for Australia will need an enormous amount of luck to pick up any returns after the West Australian skidded off at high speed and crashed into the wall in the final qualifying session.

Ricciardo and his team-mate Max Verstappen had not enjoyed the easiest of weekends, but this was a body blow to the ever smiling Ricciardo’s hopes of winning his first ever home Grand Prix. He can now be backed at odds of $151 with Sportsbet.

Former world champion Fernando Alonso has not got warm in the past few seasons since his move to McLaren and the formerly great team continues to struggle.

But at least the Spaniard could smile a little after the first qualifying session of the season when he qualified in 13th position. He will be desperate to at least finish this time, and if his car can hold together, he certainly knows how to reach the chequered flag so his price of $2.20 with Bet 365 to complete the race might be worth a look.

Hotshot Hamilton Sets Pace in the Park

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

According to the shrewdies, there are two certainties about this season’s Formula One world title – Lewis Hamilton is nailed on to win the drivers’ championship, and his team, Mercedes, are even bigger certainties to win the constructors title.

While it’s hard to bet against Hamilton, who was quickest in both practice sessions at Albert Park on Friday, the skinny odds about Mercedes taking the constructors championship might not look that attractive if Ferrari can get off to a flying start in Melbourne, and then again in the ”flyaway” races which dominate the early part of the season.

The Silver Arrows are a best priced $1.47 with Betfair to win the championship again this season, with Ferrari at $4.40 with the same company.

Should Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen confirm that the offseason testing was a good guide to the season – the Scuderia was quicker than Mercedes in the last tests in Spain – and both snatch podiums at Albert Park, interest in Ferrari will surely intensify.

A New Season So it’s All Up for Grabs

It might be wishful thinking, and it’s certainly a big if, but in Valtteri Bottas, Hamilton has a new team-mate not yet steeped in the ways Mercedes works.

The Finn is quick and talented, as he proved with strong performances in Friday’s 90-minute practice runs. That might help push Hamilton to the limit and only make the German team even harder to beat.

But Bottas is not yet bedded into the Mercedes system, and if for some reason he gets off to an uncertain start in the opening couple of races, confidence might ebb a little, giving Ferrari, with its settled driver line-up, an opening.

It may be pie in the sky, but that’s what’s so interesting at this point of a new season: everything is possible, and nobody is yet shown to be driving a dud or to have lost their form.

Red Bull is priced up at around $7.60 with Betfair’s fixed odds market, and while it is an interesting price, it is hard to see Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen actually winning enough races to give them a real shot in the constructors battle.

Hamilton tried to talk up Ferrari’s chances at the pre-race press conference on day one of the Grand Prix festival, suggesting that the Italian squad should be favourites. Vettel was doing the opposite, suggesting that testing was merely a guide that could perhaps mislead, and the real laboratory was out on the track from the first practise session onwards.

”So far we don’t know anything. We will get the first impression on Sunday. There are a lot of new things (this season),” the four-time champion Vettel told journalists.

Hamilton Sets the Friday Benchmark

Certainly, Hamilton was able to show he was in the groove right from the off on Friday, in the first 90-minute practice session posting a time of 1.24.220, more than half a second quicker than Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo was fractionally behind the Finn and just ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Verstappen.

Raikkonen was quickest of the Ferraris with Vettel just a smidgen slower.

In the second session, Vettel was second best, but he was half a second down on Hamilton. All look to have their work cut out to match the Brit on Sunday, but qualifying on Saturday will provide more clues.