The New Owners Are Betting On F1 To Be Better But Can We?
Posted: March 23, 2017
Updated: October 6, 2017
Traditionally as Spring bustles around the capitals of Europe the powers that be behind Formula One wake from their winter’s slumber, hop on a plane and jet off to the antipodes for the first race of the season under the warm sunshine lingering at the tail end of an Australian summer and this year will be no different, but with new owners and Mercedes still likely to be top of the heap, is it going to be worth betting on F1 this season at Bet365 or is this destined to be another eight month long parade lap?
The posh-boy’s go-kart club returns once more pretending that its a real sport and not just a competition between motor manufacturers to outspend each other on an advertising vanity project that only garners public attention because someone might crash in spectacular fashion. With F1 now owned by the American concern formerly known as Liberty Media (and now after the sport they bought as The F1 Group) there are some betting on F1 changing for the better, but sadly it won’t happen by the weekend.
F1 Drivers Championship 2017
• Kimi Raikkonen – 10/1
• Daniel Ricciardo – 9/1
• Max Verstappen – 8/1
• Valtteri Bottas – 9/2
• Sebastian Vettel – 7/2
• Lewis Hamilton – Evens
Just what the new American owners intend to do about the myriad of problems that plague F1 remains to be seen, and indeed one has to wonder what they can do about more money equating with better results and creating dull, predictable, racing. Battling against traditionalists, and the teams with a vested interest in the status quo, any one in the UK gambling news headlines will be of F1 becoming a radical hotbed of innovation and excitement any time soon, hasn’t been betting on F1 over recent years.
Will New Management Make F1 Exciting Again?
The dominance of Mercedes has been absolute, their car simply faster than their competitors having had more money spent on it. Nico Rosberg, the hatefully petulant World Champion in 2016, might be gone, replaced with the cherubic demeanor of Valtteri Bottas, but with him instantly bouncing up to third favourite to be the next World Champion just by being in a Mercedes the difference between them and the rest of the grid becomes all too obvious, and makes betting on F1 just a bit too easy.
Australian Grand Prix 2017
• Felipe Massa – 100/1
• Max Verstappen – 10/1
• Daniel Ricciardo – 10/1
• Kimi Raikkonen – 17/2
• Valtteri Bottas – 4/1
• Sebastian Vettel – 7/2
• Lewis Hamilton – 11/10
Naturally there are those of us that still blame the fuss made over the death of Ayrton Senna and the subsequent craven pandering to public concerns about ‘safety’, in a sport that by definition should be anything but safe, for slowly eroding F1. With the new ‘halo’ being considered many are betting on F1 to cease being open cockpit racing within a few years unless the new masters throw some caution to the wind, and frankly if they want to attract those that like to bet on sports in UK at Bet365, they’ll have to.
Bet365 Has Everything For Those Betting On F1 In 2017
It says much for betting on F1 this season that Mercedes are 1/3 to win the Constructors Championship and if Ferrari getting 10/3 or Red Bull getting 11/2 makes you even considering parting with your cash at this stage of the game I have a bridge I want to sell you. Lewis Hamilton is still Evens to win the championship with Sebastian Vettel on 7/2 and new silver-arrow driver Bottas on 9/2 leaving Vestappen & Ricciardo at Red Bull on 8/1 and 9/1 respectively and Kimi Raikkonen at a distant 10/1.
Australian Grand Prix 2017
• Melbourne GP Circuit
• March 26th 2017
• Type – Street
• Lap – 5.303km
• Length – 58 Laps
• Sponsor – Rolex
Of course if you ARE going to take advantage of UK gambling laws to do some betting on F1 this weekend Bet365 has all the up to date odds and right now they’re showing Hamilton on 11/10, Vettel on 7/2, Bottas at 4/1 and Raikkonen on 17/2 ahead of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen on 10/1. Which means if you want to make a wager that might mean something to your bank roll it is perhaps the 7/4 you can get on the Red Bulls coming in the top three, or even Felipe Massa to make a podium in a Williams on 12/1.