Japanese Grand Prix Preview – by Alex
I’m a betting man rather than a “cars” man, so I enlisted my petrol-head friend Simon for some help with this preview.
He tells me that it’s an exciting time for the F1 purists as next year F1 is going to change the rules about engines. From next year, it’s in with 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 engines and out with the current 2.4-litre V8 engines.
Anyway, enough with the technical stuff. Let’s have a look at the runners and riders and see if we can find some bets.
It’s an early start for UK-based fans, kicking off at 7am (3pm local).
Looking to this year’s race, it really is difficult to look beyond the champ Vettel. With a mammoth 272 points he leads his nearest rival by a full 77 points. He’s one of the best drivers, in by far the best car, with the full backing of his team.
Vettel’s won the race three of the last four years (Jenson Button took the spoils in 2011). After two years at Fuji, the race moved to Suzuka four years ago.
Historically, Ferrari have had good success in Japan. They had five successive victories in the last 20 years, but haven’t had the winner since Michael Schumacher in 2004 (a different era really).
It might be worth looking down the field for some value bets this week. Although the winners have always been among the market leaders, there is room for some of the lesser lights to sneak into the points (or even on the podium). Last year saw Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) take third and the likes of Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), Pastor Maldonado (Williams) and Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) take home points.
The tires this week are the two hardest compounds in their range – the white-banded medium tyres and the orange-marked mediums.
With another year under their belts, I fancy the drivers will have the measure of the circuit this time round. My recommendation would be the buy the total classified finishers at 18.7. This is a market that’s tempting to get short of (it’s so easy to imagine a first-corner pile up) but you’d be surprised how often there’s a “clean” race.
On the win market, it’s hard to see past Vettel but he’s plenty short. Stick to the finishers market and hide behind the sofa at the first bend.
ADVICE
BUY the total classified finishers at 18.7
- Any spread prices quoted are indicative and as always prices are subject to fluctuation.
- Please note the opinion, views and forecasts above are of the author and not of Star Spreads.
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