The F1 Times gambling contest between Ryan Wood (Editor) and Daniel Chalmers (Feature Editor) heads to the 18th round at the Yas Marina circuit for the Abu Dhabi GP.
Both men have a budget of £5 to spend on a maximum of 3 different bets relating to the upcoming event. The deadline for these bets to be placed is before the start of the first Friday practise session.
At the end of the season the winner will be the person who has made the most profit, or made the lowest loss.
Here are the results from last time.
Ryan Wood
Bet 1 – Lewis Hamilton to win Indian GP – £5.00 at 6/1
Daniel Chalmers
Bet 1 – Fernando Alonso to win the Indian GP – £5.00 at 5/1
Daniel and Ryan both took a chance and put all their money on one bet. It was worth a shot but there was no stopping Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. It’s only really worth betting on outcomes with short odds when you have lots of money to spend, rather than our tiny budget of £5.
Daniel came the closest to winning. Alonso drove from fifth to second place in the race, and it would only have taken a problem for Vettel, for Daniel to net an impressive £30.00 win
After 17 races £85.00 has been spent by both men. Ryan now has £56.74 worth of profit, whilst Daniel has £38.40 worth of losses. Therefore there is a difference of £95.14 between the two gamblers.
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Ryan Wood |
Daniel Chalmers |
Again we are off to another of F1’s new circuits. The Abu Dhabi circuit is an incredible facility where no stone has been left unturned. There is no doubt that under the lights the track is extremely pleasing on the eye, particularly the nice pretty lights on the hotel. It’s just a shame that the circuit layout itself is a bit of an afterthought.
Overall it is similar to Valencia except for the fact that the straights are actually straight. You need a car that is very strong in slow corners and has great traction. Also a car with good straight line speed is also very beneficial for the two giant straights in sector two.
One factor that could make the race interesting is the fact that during the race window the temperature will be dropping as it gets dark. We have seen how difficult it is to get the Pirelli tyres in the operating window even when the track temperature is constant. There is the potential for teams to perform better in certain periods of the race if they get things wrong.
Round 18 – Abu Dhabi
Ryan Wood
Bet 1 – Sebastian Vettel to do the treble – Pole, Win and Fastest lap – £2.00 at 3/1
There is no reason why Sebastian Vettel cannot win a fifth race in a row. The Red Bull driver is currently enjoying a brilliant streak of dominant wins.
As such, his odds are somewhat stale at 1/1 therefore the return isn’t worth a bet. However at 3/1 to secure the treble, give his form, is certainly worth a couple of quid.
He didn’t manage it in India, thanks to Jenson Button’s fastest lap and his own sparking tea-tray, but it’s highly likely he could achieve the feat this weekend if everything goes to plan.
Bet 2 – Lewis Hamilton to win the Abu Dhabi GP – £3.00 at 6/1
I put money on Lewis to win last weekend in India. That didn’t really play out as I had expected, although he was an outside bet given Vettel’s dominance.
Once again, Hamilton is my back-up bet. If things go to plan at the Yas Marina circuit and things don’t quite work for Vettel, my bet is Hamilton to be there to pick up the pieces.
Daniel Chalmers
Bet 1 – Lewis Hamilton to qualify on pole – £1.00 at 13/2
Bet 2 – Lewis Hamilton to win the Abu Dhabi GP – £3.00 at 6/1
I think McLaren are going to have their strongest weekend for a while. Their car hasn’t actually been that far off Red Bull’s pace. At the last two races they were less than three tenths away from pole position.
With a few upgrades, or a weekend where things generally go better for them, they can definitely make up that gap. Track layout alone could make the difference, and Abu Dhabi is certainly very different from recent tracks.
Abu Dhabi has generally been a strong track for McLaren and in particular Hamilton. He thrives in the street circuit style sector three. It’s great to watch him drive in that section of the track. He has started on the front row in each of the three GPs we have had here so far.
It’s also worth remembering the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP. McLaren had been off a form for a few races leading into that race. However Hamilton and McLaren both bounced back to great form at that event. History could repeat itself this weekend.
Bet 3 – Jenson Button to set the fastest lap of the race – £1.00 at 12/1
The fastest lap market is often a good hunting ground for a good win. Even in a race where one team dominates there is no guarantee they will get the fastest lap of the race. It often comes down to whose tyres are in the best condition in the closing stages of the race, or who is actually still pushing and not simply just cruising to the flag.
Last time out in India it was Jenson who got the fastest lap. At brilliant odds of 12/1 it’s well worth putting a quid on him repeating that feat here.
