19-06-2007 Formula One Betting Analysis from PinnacleSports.com

Silverstone - the Home of Formula One: Tennis has Wimbledon, Football has Wembley, and Formula One has Silverstone. The converted WWII bomber base in Northamptonshire is a Mecca for British Formula One fans. The famous track can also stake a strong claim to being the birth place of the F1 World Championship as a whole, having hosted the first ever race of the inaugural event in 1950.

This year sees four British drivers lining up on the starting grid, led by the sport’s new poster boy, Lewis Hamilton, with the chances of another Brit being added to the roll of honour the best for some time. Anticipating the Brit backing frenzy, PinnacleSports.com, the leading online bookmaker with a reputation for offering consistent value to the player has priced this market to just 101.5%.

Hamilton Mania
Hamilton has burst onto the F1 scene in his first season, becoming the first ever rookie driver to secure a podium finish in each of his first three World Championship Grand Prix, but his impact won’t surprise students of F1’s feeder levels. The Stevenage born driver won the 2006 GP2 championship, the highlight of which was victory at Silverstone, and more than any of the circuit’s venues, he will be desperate to repeat the success he showed on his home track. At the 2006 Silverstone GP2 he recovered from 8th on the grid to take the chequered flag having produced a double pass at Becketts at speeds of 150mph. Silverstone suits Hamilton’s aggressive racing style being one of the fastest circuits on the racing calendar, despite being slowed by extreme modifications in 1991.

Many bookmakers will be exploiting patriotic punters, so shop around for the best value, looking at low-margin specialists such as PinnacleSports.com. Before jumping on the Hamilton band-wagon it is worth reiterating that successful betting is founded on sound logic and not following hype. Remember that back in 2000, Jenson Button was Britain’s next big thing, but he struggled under that burden. It took Button five seasons to reach his potential ending the 2004 season World Championship in 3rd, but he still needed 113 attempts for his first win coming in the 2006 Hungarian GP driving for Honda.

Button’s best at Silverstone was a fourth place in 2003, but with Honda having a season to forget he seems a long-shot to better that. Two-time winner, David Coulthard, lines up driving the improving Red Bull but will realistically be aiming at a points finish, while Ant Davidson may be getting improved performance from his Super Aguri, but is highly unlikely to trouble even the top eight positions.

The last four British Grand Prix have seen four different winners (Barrichello, Schumacher, Montoya, Alonso), and there has to be a good chance of a fifth new face on the top step of the podium since neither of the Ferrari drivers, Kimi Raikkonen nor Felipe Massa, have won at the Towcester course.

The circuit has a special place in the hearts of Ferrari fans as it was here in 1951 that Jose Froilan Gonzalez scored the first ever World Championship victory for the Scuderia. Winter testing officially came to an end in March and it was Ferrari who won what has become known as the ‘off-season World Championship’. Savvy punters at PinnacleSports.com will be keeping a close eye on the big organised three-day test session at Silverstone two weeks prior to the Grand Prix, which is usually attended by the vast majority of the teams.

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