Early Odds For The 2013 Formula 1 Season

An analysis of the formula 1 odds for 2013.

It's only a few weeks since the 2012 formula 1 season ended and I'm already getting withdrawal symptoms.  So to help me cope with the close season I thought I would have a look at the early odds for the 2013 driver's formula 1 championship.

Looking at the odds available from SkyBet, you can pretty much divide the field into three groups of drivers; the favourites, the outside contenders and the longshots.

The favourites:
Perhaps not surprisingly, SkyBet's odds seem to suggest that we're in for another two way battle between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, with the pair of them the clear favourites in the current betting:

Sebastian Vettel - 2.25
Fernando Alonso - 3.25

Brazilian Grand Prix: Interlagos Tips Round-Up

An unbelievably exciting finish to an absolutely classic season.

Before I move onto my tips I just want to say how much I've absolutely loved the 2012 formula 1 season.  I first got into formula 1 during the days of Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve, Mika Hakkinen, etc, and although those first few few seasons as a formula 1 fan got me completely hooked, I think it's fair to say that in terms of excitement and entertainment the bar just keeps getting higher.

Credit to the drivers for some of the amazing races we've witnessed this season and credit also to all the teams for the current atmosphere of co-operation which has allowed rivalries to be put aside for the greater good of the sport.  Today's race has to go down as another brilliantly dramatic finale to a formula 1 season and I'm already looking forward to 2013.

Anyway, this is how my post-qualifying tips performed...

Race Winner:
10 points on Lewis Hamilton at 2.38 - LOSS
Things were looking good for Lewis Hamilton until lap 54 when Nico Hulkenberg slid into him at the first corner and put him out of the race.

Race Winner (Eachway):
10 points on Felipe Massa at 34.0 (5 points on the win - LOSS, 5 points eachway - WIN 33 points)*
Felipe Massa rounded off his strong finish to the season with a podium at his home Grand Prix, ensuring a return of 33 points from this bet.

* On an eachway bet, SkyBet pay 1/5 the odds for the first three places.

Brazilian Grand Prix: Interlagos Post-Qualifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The Brazilian Grand Prix

Every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and place a few hypothetical bets using the odds available from SkyBet.com and see how I do.  In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, I place a selection of tips before and after qualifying and see which set of tips do best.

You can find my pre-qualifying tips here:
Brazilian Grand Prix: Interlagos Pre-Qualifying Tips

Before I make my post-qualifying tips, once again I would add a note of caution to anyone placing a bet on tomorrow's Grand Prix, as the current weather forecast predicts a high possibility of a wet race which will of course add a degree of unpredictability to things making all betting markets harder to predict.  So bearing that in mind, here are my post-qualifying tips... 

Brazilian Grand Prix: Interlagos Pre-Quaifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The Brazilian Grand Prix

Every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and place a few hypothetical bets using the odds available from SkyBet.com and see how I do.  In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, I'll make some tips before and after qualifying and see which set of tips do best.

I would add a note of caution to keep an eye on the weather forecast for Sunday's race, as a wet race will of course add a degree of unpredictability to things making all betting markets harder to predict.  Anyway, here are my pre-qualifying tips...

Race Winner:
10 points on Lewis Hamilton at 3.75
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel looked to be the class of the field in the US, so you have to fancy them to contest things again in Brazil.  Lewis just had the edge on Sunday and with Vettel being focussed on the championship he'll be primarily concerned with finishing ahead of Alonso and therefore unlikely to want to take too many risks battling for the lead.  I'm therefore edging slightly towards Lewis Hamilton at odds of 3.75.

To Finish In The Points (Top Ten Finish):
20 points on Daniel Ricciardo at 3.5
A poor qualifying session hindered his chances at the US Grand Prix, but Ricciardo has nevertheless managed 5 top ten finishes from the last 8 Grand Prix and therefore looks decent value for a points scoring finish at Interlagos at odds of 3.5.

United States Grand Prix: Austin Tips Round-Up

An exciting Grand Prix, but an average performance from my formula 1 tips...

In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and then place a few hypothetical bets both before and after qualifying using the odds available from SkyBet.com.  I then analyse their performance and see which set of tips do best.

Both sets of tips performed quite averagely this week, although once again my post-qualifying tips just managed to outperform my pre-qualifying tips, so the way things are developing it’s looking like waiting until after qualifying before placing your formula 1 bets is definitely a wise strategy.

This is how my post-qualifying tips performed…

To Finish On The Podium:
10 points on Fernando Alonso at 3.5 – WIN 35 points
Fernando is becoming the master at qualifying on the 3rd or 4th row of the grid and then making up a few places during the race to finish up on the podium and he did it once again at the United States Grand Prix.  He was arguably helped by Ferrari’s clever and sneaky tactic of forcing a five grid sot penalty for Felipe Massa by breaking the seal on his gear box, but I think there’s a strong case that even without this pre-race tactic Fernando would very probably have still made the podium.  Anyway, if he qualifies in a similar position at Brazil then he’s worth considering once again for another podium finish.

Top Six Finish:
15 points on Kimi Raikkonen at odds of 1.33 – WIN 20 points
Kimi has been the model of consistency in the Top Six market, and has now made it 12 top six finishes from the last 13 Grand Prix.

The United States Grand Prix: Austin Post-Qualifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The United States Grand Prix

Every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and place a few hypothetical bets using the odds available from SkyBet.com and see how I do.  In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, I place a selection of tips before and after qualifying and see which set of tips do best.

You can find my pre-qualifying tips here:
The United States Grand Prix: Austin Pre-Qualifying Tips

And here are my post-qualifying tips...

To Finish On The Podium:
10 points on Fernando Alonso at 3.5
If Vettel wins the race then Alonso needs to finish at least 4th to take the championship battle to the final round of the season in Brazil next week, so you can guarantee that Fernando will be giving it his all to make up as many places as possible.  Alonso had a disappointing qualifying session but that's been the story of his last few Grand Prix weekends and it hasn't stopped him from making the podium in 5 of the last 6 races.  One of Fernando's strengths is that he consistently makes up places during the race, so even starting from 8th on the grid he can't be written off.

Top Six Finish:
15 points on Kimi Raikkonen at odds of 1.33
Kimi has been the model of consistency in this market, notching 11 top six finishes from the last 12 Grand Prix.  On the back of his brilliant drive at Abu Dhabi I'm therefore going to go for a cagey bet on Kimi Raikkonen to record yet another top six finish.

The United States Grand Prix: Austin Pre-Qualifying Tips

Formula 1 Tips For The United States Grand Prix

Every Grand Prix weekend I give myself 100 points and place a few hypothetical bets using the odds available from SkyBet.com and see how I do.  In general I always like to wait until after qualifying before placing my bets, so to test whether that's the best strategy or not, I'll make some tips before and after qualifying and see which set of tips do best. 

To Finish In The Points (Top Ten Finish):
20 points on Daniel Ricciardo at 5.0
Daniel Ricciardo has now sneaked into the lower end of the top ten at 5 of the last 7 Grand Prix and yet the bookies still continue to rate him as an outsider in this market.  His odds to finish in the points at the United States Grand Prix this weekend are 5.0, so at that price he seems worth a punt.

To Qualify On The Front Row:
20 points on Mark Webber to Qualify On The Front Row at 1.91
Mark Webber has qualified on the front row at each of the last four Grand Prix, so this looks like another decent bet.