F1 Betting: New Season Begins in Australia
Make no mistake about betting on F1 racing: The car matters more than the driver, and the owner matters more than the car. That’s why Sebastian Vettel is the reigning king of Formula One at the tender age of 23, and the 9-4 favorite to defend his championship in 2011. We’ll get to see Vettel’s season debut this Sunday (1:00 a.m. Eastern Time) at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne – again with the German favored at 2-1.
It isn’t that Vettel doesn’t know his clutch from his brake. He’s one of the brightest talents on the Formula One circuit and the youngest driver ever to score points at an F1 race, placing seventh at the 2007 United States Grand Prix. But Vettel is the champion today (again, the youngest in F1 history) because he was able to leave the BMW Sauber team in 2007 and sign with Scuderia Toro Rosso, owned by Austrian beverage company Red Bull. Vettel then moved to Red Bull Racing (the company owns both teams) in 2009, and the rest is history.
For F1 betting purposes, the real “star” of the show here is Dietrich Mateschitz, the billionaire owner and co-founder of Red Bull. Mateschitz is very serious about sports in general, and the more thrilling, the better. He’s been a close friend with former F1 driver Gerhard Berger; the two were co-owners of Toro Rosso (formerly the Minardi team) until Berger cashed out his share in 2008. Mateschitz has poured considerable funds into developing his teams, especially Red Bull Racing (formerly the Jaguar team). He even bought the old A1-Ring track, formerly the site of the Austrian Grand Prix, and re-christened it the Red Bull Ring. Mateschitz is playing the role of caretaker owner to perfection. With another year under its belt, Red Bull Racing is 11-10 to defend the Constructors’ Championship.
The biggest challenge to Red Bull Racing this year figures to come from Scuderia Ferrari at 5-2. Ferrari has been around for over 80 years; the company has always been about nothing but sports cars, and the only racing Team Ferrari does is Formula One. Ferrari won the 2007 and 2008 constructors’ titles before falling to fourth in 2009 after unveiling the 599XX chassis. Ferrari did marginally better in 2010, finishing third, but expectations are much higher this year with the brand-new “Ferrari 150° Italia” car, which will make its debut in Melbourne. Newer is usually better when it comes to cars, despite the relative disappointment with the 599XX. Lead driver Fernando Alonso, the 2005 and 2006 Drivers’ Champion, is 5-2 to add a third title this year and 3-1 to take the Australian Grand Prix.
If anyone’s is going to keep up with Red Bull Racing and Ferrari in 2011, McLaren is the best candidate at 5-1. This veteran open-wheel racing team was on top of the F1 scene in 2007 with Alonso on board and fighting toe-to-toe with teammate Lewis Hamilton for the championship. That was also the year McLaren was disqualified from winning the constructors’ title for industrial espionage. The MP4-25 chassis debuted for McLaren last year and delivered dramatic improvements over 2009, winning five races and beating out Ferrari for second place behind Red Bull Racing. Hamilton is now the top dog on the team; the 2008 drivers’ champion is available at 7-1 to get his crown back, and 10-1 to prevail at Melbourne.
There’s better than just an outside chance that Mercedes GP (8-1) can sneak in there after finishing fourth in 2010, the team’s official debut after purchasing Brawn GP, the 2009 constructors’ champions who themselves had bought out the Honda Racing team. Mercedes has one of the best drivers ever to suit up in seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, but he’s on the outside looking in this year at 12-1 for the title and 12-1 for Melbourne.
Ultimately, the best value pick to overtake Vettel could be his own teammate. Mark Webber is 4-1 to win the Australian Grand Prix, although just 8-1 for the drivers’ title. Team orders are perfectly legal as of this year; Webber and Vettel evidently weren’t under any secret orders in 2010, with Vettel winning five races to Webber’s four as they fought down to the wire. Webber chafed at the idea that Vettel was the team favorite last year. They’ve reportedly made peace since then, but we’ll soon see if anything really changes in 2011.
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