Belgian F1 Grand Prix Preview and Odds
The last weekend of August sees us head off to Spa for the F1 Belgian Grand Prix. This comes one week after the recent foray around the streets of Valencia. Funnily enough, it may have been the dullest race of the season that has decided the result of the formula one championship. In Valencia, Red Bull was unable to score any points while Brawn GP took a win plus a few points.
Jenson Button ($2.84 for a podium finish) now leads the championship by 18 points of team-mate Rubens Barichello. To be realistic, Rubens Barichello ($27 for a Qualifying/Winner Double) is unlikely to challenge Button for the championship lead. It was only because of a poor start by Jenson Button coupled with a bit of bad luck that led to a disproportionate gap between the Brawn drivers. Button was only a fraction off of Barichello’s pace and his fastest lap was a few hundredths of a second quicker than Rubens. With the Formula 1 Drivers Championship now Button’s to lose, BetFair is paying odds of $1.59 for Jenson Button to become the 2009 driver’s champion.
The 2009 Belgian GP will be all about carrying last week’s form forward for the boys at Brawn GP. They were able to regain the upper hand over challengers Red Bull in Valencia and will be looking to consolidate their championship lead. Brawn GP is tipped to win the 2009 Constructors Championship and Betfair is paying odds of $1.47. The main challengers for the two Brawn drivers will once again be Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber. Vettel’s championship race is all but over after using two of his three remaining engines in Valencia. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is renowned for the stress that it causes on engines with the majority of circuit time being at full-throttle. This will benefit the teams with a more reliable vehicle. Read more of this article »

