25/07/2013
NEWS STORY
A truncated Betting Angle this week courtesy of a laptop which is proving as reliable as a Land Rover Freelander's gearbox.
So only quick reflections on Germany where we witnessed one of the rarest things in Formula 1, Mark Webber overtaking Sebastian Vettel on-track. Alas he passed the Safety Car concurrently which explains the anomaly.
Following the German GP Mercedes were finally awarded a Timeform double squiggle (§§) in my notebook. For the uninitiated, and those not familiar with horseracing, 'Timeform' is a formbook 'bible' and the §§ symbol next to a horse's name indicates 'undoubtedly talented but wholeheartedly quirky and not to be trusted!'
Romain Grosjean now boasts four third-placed finishes in Formula 1 and on each of those occasions his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen, finished one place ahead of him. In Germany the Swiss-bred Frenchman fared best for the majority of the race forfeiting second only in the closing stages. That was a carbon copy of Hungary 2012 and, with the weather once again forecast to reach BBQ proportions, the Lotus will be formidable this weekend.
However, while tempted to invest in a double-podium finish for Lotus, I'm looking at a tasty 10/1 shot in the form of Raikkonen to claim the 'fastest lap'. Lotus tend to strategize a hare and hounds approach for their driver duo and it will be no surprise to see the Finn with the faster car and a clear track during the closing stages when fastest laps are posted.
During the past two seasons Raikkonen has been the most successful 'fastest lap' driver after the Red Bull pilots and a straightforward 3 from 29 strike-rate means he should not be 10/1 for the accolade this weekend even before factoring in his car will be enjoying its optimum operating conditions.
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I've long wanted to dissect fastest laps as it's more important to punters than general spectators who are purely concerned on the race result. However, I somehow felt it inappropriate to produce a pie chart with no sight or sign of a Ferrari driver on it. That all changed in Germany with Alonso ending a losing sequence of 38 which stretched back to Silverstone in 2011.
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That stat may surprise many. Mercedes not claiming one this season may not. They are, after all, better at the start of a race than the end.
In total eight different teams have claimed a fastest lap since the start of the 2012 season.
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This Week's Selections:
100 points Kimi Raikkonen to claim Fastest Lap 10/1 (Bet Victor)
This week's investment: 100 points
Current profit/loss: Level points*.
*Less 100 point investment on constructor's outright market
© Roy Brindley 2013
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