After the summer break the Formula 1 circus rolls into Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend and here BetVictor’s Charlie McCann takes a look at the main contenders and odds on offer for the big race.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton will looking to build on his brilliant win in the Hungarian GP at the end of July and hoping to make further inroads into the lead of Fernando Alonso at the top of the 2012 Drivers’ Championship.
Alonso returns from the summer break with a 40-point lead over Mark Webber with his Red Bull team mate and dual World Champion Sebastian Vettel two points further back; Lewis Hamilton trails the German by five with the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen just one behind the McLaren star.
Vettel won the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix (Red Bull 1-2) and Hamilton was successful two years ago but Spa has been particularly kind to Kimi Raikkonen and the Flying Finn is looking for a fifth win at a circuit which he, unsurprisingly, describes as the greatest racing circuit in the world. Raikkonen has been consistent but has yet to win in 2012 and is 5/1 at BetVictor to land the nap hand at Spa this weekend a win which would seal his comeback to F1 having taken a two year sabbatical at the end of the 2009 season to briefly flirt with both rallying and NASCAR.
Alonso remains Even money favourite to add a third World Title to those he picked up in 2005 & 6 when driving for Renault but with nine races and 225 points still at stake I’m not convinced he has a big enough buffer given I can see McLaren and the Red Bulls finishing the year very strongly.
Hamilton is 11/4 favourite with BetVictor to win in Spa on Sunday with last year’s winner Vettel next in the betting at 4/1 and Alonso at 13/2 behind Raikkonen. It is one of the most popular races on the calendar loved by drivers and spectators alike with its mix of both slow and high-speed corners and it is a race that the Ardennes weather often plays a key role.
Michael Schumacher will become only the second driver in the history of the sport to compete in 300 Grand Prix at Spa a track he recently described as “like my living room; it’s clearly the number one race track in the world.”
The seven time world Champion is 40/1 to win this weekend and finished fifth in the corresponding race last year having qualified in 24th. Expect something special from Schumacher again this weekend.
Belgian Grand Prix: 2nd September 2012 – latest prices from BetVictor:
L Hamilton 11/4
S Vettel 4/1
K Raikkonen 5/1
F Alonso 13/2
R Grosjean 9/1
M Webber 10/1
J Button 11/1
33/1 Bar