Bookies Blog

Lewis Hamilton heads the outright winner betting at 7/4, but his form in Asia this year reads: 5-13-3-12. Patriotism can badly skew the betting markets in Britain, just as Stan James have cut England to win the 2010 World Cup from 10/1 to 7/1. Lewis topped Friday’s second practice in Shanghai, and will hopefully drive more conservatively after his antics in Japan cost my bet on Kimi Raikonnen.

Raikonnen is generally 6/1 this weekend, although I am concerned about the car’s speed. The two Ferraris finished sixth and eighth in the practice, which doesn’t inspire betting confidence. Nevertheless, they are 11/10 to be the winning constructor this weekend.

I accept that the odds won’t be as generous as Singapore, but 11/1 Fernando Alonso has to enter calculations. The Renaults had plenty of pace in the practice, finishing 3rd and 4th. I would want each way terms, so the best we can do is 9/1 with Blue Square. Simply betting on him at 8/5 to get a podium finish makes little appeal, never mind how erratic the Big 4 have been.

Heikki Kovalainen was showing good speed last weekend until he suffered from a rare technical glitch, so is also an interesting each way prospect at 16/1 with Paddy Power.

My big bet this weekend is on Sébastien Bourdais to finish in the points at 13/8. Bourdais was in the top 3 in practice today until he ended up in the gravel, which meant that he missed the last 11 minutes. He still managed a creditable 7th place. The Frenchman was harshly penalised 25 seconds for an incident with Felipe Massa, which meant that he just missed out on a points finish.  The team’s technical director, Laurent Mekie, believes that the Chinese GP will be more favourable for the team. The Toro Rosso team haven’t guaranteed Bourdais a place in the team for next season, and with the F1 season drawing to a close, he will be giving it his all.

Recommendation:

5pts 13/8 Bourdais Points Finish

1pt ew 9/1 Alonso to win the Chinese GP

bookies.com compares the odds between the leading British bookmakes for all of the F1 markets, including whther or not there will be a Safety Car.

World Cup 2010 Winner Betting

Chinese GP: Winner Betting

Chinese GP: Winning Constructor Betting

Chinese GP: Podium Finish Betting

Chinese GP: Pole Position Betting