Australian GP 2016 Betting Preview
After almost three months in the torrid doldrums waiting for the smell of tyre rubber, F1 is finally back on our screens and the whole grid is geared-up for another adrenalin-pumped season ahead. The team at BetOTG have all the latest news from the paddock along with who we think will perform well and give you our top tips for the up-coming race in Australia.
Will Mercedes get it all their own way?
If you like to bet, then the clever money is going to be on Lewis Hamilton, he won 12 out 19 races in 2015 and was on the podium for all but two races. Lewis comes here on Sunday in a similar position to last year, having comfortably beaten his team-mate the year before and confident with the results shown during pre-testing in Barcelona
Will Nico or Seb put up a fight this year…
So who would bet against him not winning a fourth title? Well Nico Rosberg will again be Hamilton’s main challenger, with Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari close behind, that’s what we expect should be the result. But as any fan would tell you Formula One can change in an instant, who would have predicted the Red Bull would no longer be the dominate force in the sport only 3 years ago?
18 cars started the last years Australian GP with only 11 finishing the race. Jenson Button had a difficult time with the McLaren but managed to get the car across the line and if pre-season lap times are anything to go by, we can’t see them doing much better this year. Felipe Nasr’s car tagged Pastor Maldonado at the first corner and he spun into the barrier, Nasr went on to come fifth with a very impressive drive, so should be worth watching this season.
Valtteri Bottas was unable to drive in Australia last season due to a bad-back, so looking at his performance in the 2015 season we’d expect the young Finn to be up there battling with the front-runners.
Felipe Massa drove a solid race for Williams to finish fourth, he is one of the most experienced driver on the track and we know he will not disappoint this year. For an outside bet young driver Daniil Kvyat who ended up retiring on lap 16 has shown great potential and should continue to improve on last year, he drove like a seasoned professional in some races and is our bet as a future world champion.
Daniel Ricciardo has been on the podium on many occasions and is three times as a winner on his home track. Given the complete lack of performance in the Renault engine in 2015 it will take a lot for the engineers at Milton Keynes to get both the engine and aerodynamics right in nine months. Christian Horner as advised caution regarding Red Bull’s chances this year and we strongly suggest to take it.
We saw a very lack luster Kimi Raikkonen throughout 2015 even though his new team-mate Sebastian Vettel was able to pick-up a number of podium place and even a race win Malaysia with the same package. We know he has the ability but does the 2007 world champion have the hunger and enthusiasm left to win a world title?
Finally Max Verstappen proved last year that Toro Rosso’s decision to allow the young 17-year-old driver a seat was the right decision. He showed unbelievable maturity in his driving style and looks certain to be a one to watch out for in the following years.
The long and dreaded winter break is finally over and F1 can get back to doing what it does best, to have us on the edge of our seats.