Sebastian Vettel is fancied to again cut down Button’s lead

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chickendinner loves a British success story as much as anyone but we weren’t looking forward to the prospect of Jenson Button winning nearly every race with Schumacher style dominance. Sadly for the Brit, his worst result of the season was saved for Silverstone (sixth) and while he is still 25 points ahead of winner Sebastian Vettel, the German is a strong favourite to win on home soil this weekend. Here are five stats about the first German Grand Prix to be held at the Nurburgring (the European and, slightly more dubiously, the Luxembourg Grands Prix have been held there since though) since 1985:

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1. Four of the last seven German Grands Prix have been one by German drivers, as have five of the last eight races at the Nurburgring.

2. On the last three occasions that a British or German driver has triumphed at Silverstone - Michael Schumacher in 2002 and 2004 and Lewis Hamilton in 2008 - they have gone on to win the German Grand Prix.

3. However, over the last six years just seven drivers have recorded victories

Posted: July 9th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Silverstone struggle doesn’t bode well for Jenson Button

Failure to win the British Grand Prix presents three bad omens

Jenson Button saved his worst result of the season for his home race and there are three major trends which suggest that his sixth-placed finish could come back to haunt him:

1) The winner at Silverstone has gone on to win the Drivers’ Championship in each of the last three seasons.

2) In ten of the last twelve seasons, the eventual world champion has finished the British Grand Prix on the podium.

Posted: June 23rd, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Brawn will challenge Felipe Massa’s supremacy in Turkey

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Ross Brawn was still at Ferrari in 2006 when Felipe Massa first won the Turkish Grand Prix but now the latest challenge in his sensational first season as an owner is to end the Brazilian’s three-year winning streak. It’s hard to back against Jenson Button right now but the Scuderia have improved recently so if Massa’s run is to end, he should go down fighting:

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» The two Ferrari drivers are the only two men who have won in Istanbul. Kimi Raikkonen took the chequered flag while with McLaren in 2005 and Massa has won in all three of his seasons to date with the Scuderia.

Posted: June 5th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

The stage is set for a Kimi Raikkonen win but his car probably isn’t

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Kimi Raikkonen has won two of the last four Spanish Grands Prix, Finnish drivers have triumphed in five of the last 11 and Ferrari in six of the last eight. Despite that, it’s not worth piling all your money in on the 2007 World Champion at 16/1 on Bet365 because past performances count for nothing in Formula One right now. Here are some stats that might prove more useful:

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» The last eight races in Catalunya have all been won by the driver starting in pole, as have 11 of the last 12.

» The Spanish Grand Prix was the only race that Jenson Button took points in last season - finishing sixth.

Posted: May 8th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Hamilton’s Bahrain GP price is halved after first practise

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Last season chickendinner enjoyed a lot of success by using past results to analyse whether it would be Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa or Kimi Raikkonen standing on the top step of the podium. However, this year has proven a lottery so far. Last weekend’s stats suggested that Ferrari would improve in China but it never materialised while the unpredictability surrounding this weekend’s race has seen Lewis Hamilton’s Betfair price crash from 22 to 11 after going fastest in first practise. Here are some Bahrain GP stats:

» Felipe Massa has won the last two Bahrain Grands Prix and Fernando Alonso the two before that but the only driver to have finished on the podium in each of the last four is Kimi Raikkonen.

» Sebastien Vettel, the winner in China last weekend, retired after one lap in Bahrain last year.

Posted: April 24th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment

Ferrari have a chance to kick start their season in Shanghai

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Ferrari have had a miserable start to the season, failing to score a single half-point in either of the opening two races. With the Brawn cars receiving a thumbs-up from the FIA, they will be expected to dominate again in Shanghai but here’s why it might be worth betting on Kimi Raikkonen or Felipe Massa being the best-placed driver besides Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello at 8/1 and 10/1 with Sky Bet:

» Massa failed to score points in either of the first two races last season before winning the third and he scored more points than any other driver outside of Australia and Malaysia in 2008.

» Since joining Ferrari in 2006, the Brazilian has never finished three straight races outside of the points.

Posted: April 16th, 2009 by Michael Lintorn | Add Comment