Formula One Betting

Drivers Championship

What a start for Hamilton, the whole thing only slightly ruined by the sickening sight of old men with painted faces shouting at the crowds after the race. Still, that aside, it all bodes pretty well for the young Brit.

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» Fernando Alonso returns to Renault - the team that helped him clinch two consecutive titles in 2005 and 2006, making him the youngest ever double winning champion in the sport’s history. A Renault car has not won a race since the Japanese Grand Prix in 2006

» chickendinner superfact: The good news for Kimi Raikkonen is that no driver has won the championship for the first time and then not retained it the following season for over a decade. Mika Hakkinen won in 1998 and 1999. Michael Schumacher from 2000 until 2004, and Fernando Alonso won it in 2005 and 2006.

» Kimi Raikkonen clinched last year’s title with the lowest amount of pole positions for seventeen years. The Finn started in pole in just three races, yet still went on to win the title. In comparison, Lewis Hamilton had six, Alonso just two, and Felipe Massa six.

» For the past two seasons, the winner of the first race of the season has won the Championship. Raikkonen clinched first place in Adelaide last season, and Alonso took the chequered flag in 2006.

» In the last two seasons the title has not been clinched until the last race of the season.

» Just once in the last thirteen seasons has a driver clinched the Driver’s Championship and his team not clinched the Constructor’s Championship - in 1999 Mika Hakkinen won the Drivers Championship (for McLaren), but Ferrari took the Constructor’s championship. Therefore, if you fancy Lewis Hamilton for the title, double up your bet on McLaren winning the Constructor’s Championship too.

» Bad news again for Lewis Hamilton: No driver has ever won the Driver’s Championship in their second full season of Formula 1. The quickest anyone has won the Championship after their debut was accomplished by Michael Schumacher, winning the title in his third full season in 1994.

» It has also been twelve years since a British driver last took the title (Damon Hill, 1996). Only two British drivers have won the title in the last thirty-two years – Hill in 1996, Nigel Mansell in 1992.

» Since the point scoring format was changed in 2003 the Driver’s Championship has been won with and average of 123.6 points. The lowest winning total since the points change was just 93 points by Michael Schumacher in 2003. The highest has been 148, also by Schumacher, in the following season.

One to watch

» There has been a lot of fuss over the debut season of Brazilian Nelsinho Piquet, son of former Formula 1 title winner and legend Nelson Piquet. The 22 year old has been testing Formula 1 cars since 2003, and has had success in lower classifications of driving. In 2004 he became the youngest ever winner of the British Formula 3 series, in 2005 he won both the GP2 series and the A1GP series for the Brazilian team, and finished runner up to Lewis Hamilton in his second season of GP2 in 2006. Hamilton’s performance last season showed that being a rookie is not necessarily a factor to stop you challenging for the title.

» No driver of Hamilton’s or Piquet’s age has ever won the Driver’s Championship. The youngest ever winner was Fernando Alonso in the 2005 season at the age of 24 years and 58 days. Hamilton has just turned 23, and Piquet is 22.

» The Constructor’s Championship in recent years has been dominated by Ferrari, winning seven of the last nine titles, with Renault clinching the other two in 2005 and 2006. Since the points totals were changed in 2003, the winning constructor has won with an average of 204.2 points.

Any other business

» chickendinner superfact: There has only been one non-European World Champion in the last 15 years: Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.

» Seven of the last ten winners of the Australian Grand Prix have gone on to win the World Championship.

» Three of the four winners at Bahrain since the race was first held in 2004 have gone on to win the World Championship.

» Seven of the last ten winners of the Spanish Grand Prix have gone on to win the World Championship.

» Only three of the last ten Monaco winners have gone on to win the World Championship.

11/03/08

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