FORMULA 1: A single point. That’s the gap separating Mercedes from Ferrari in the constructors championship after the Russian grand prix. This time last year, Mercedes had pulled out an 81 point lead over Ferrari in second and were almost untouchable the entire season. Thankfully, it would seem we will be treated to fierce competition for the top spot in both the drivers and constructors championship.
Speaking of the drivers championship, curiously, Sebastian Vettel leads by a margin of 13 points over Lewis Hamilton. After only 4 races, to be ahead so clearly and for Ferrari to be behind Mercedes reflects rather poorly on one Kimi Raikkonen. His many years in the sport and his rally driving experience was touted to be a great strength moving into the current formula of stickier cars with wider wheels, yet this hasn’t materialised for the ageing Finn.
It is, in fact, the other Finn who is highlighting Raikkonens poor performance. Valterri Bottas took a while to find his feet but after a pole in Bahrain and a fantastic win in Russia, he is contributing far more significantly to his team than his Ferrari counterpart.
Force India continue a frankly amazing run of 4 double points finishes and are currently sitting in fourth ahead of a struggling Williams. They seem poised to continue this form and are a great bet at the moment for more points finishes.
The famous Circuit de Catalunya is up next on the calendar. This power hungry track is likely to favour the Mercedes and Ferrari engines, particularly the Mercs. That said, Barcelona often throws up crazy and exciting races. Last year, Hamilton lost the rear coming up to turn 3 and collected his team mate Rosberg for a double retirement, allowing Max Verstappen to stand on top of the podium in his first race for Red Bull.
On the subject of Red Bull, there are a slew of improvements on the way for the RB13 for this race. The team are known for their aggressive development path and prodigious aerodynamic department so perhaps we will see a resurgence of the bulls.
Outright:
Vettel 4.1 and Hamilton 1.87 are obviously clear favourites for the upcoming Spanish grand prix and perhaps not where the value lies for the discerning bettor. Daniel Ricciardo is the stand out price at the moment at 30. Although he is in an inferior car, this big upgrade package should certainly help and Ricciardo will be chomping at the bit to get a good result under his belt.
Specials:
We have some returning favourites and some fresh markets in our specials corner this week. The “McHonda Reliability Meal” is getting more and more likely each week, yet the team have not managed to perform this rather fundamental task of getting both cars over the finish line. “Red Bull Recovery” gives you the chance to put your faith in Red Bulls upgrade package paying dividends and getting both of their drivers to the podium. Finally, “Putting Points in the Bag” looks to some of the underperforming drivers to up their game this weekend. You can back Lance Stroll and Jolyon Palmer to score their first points of the season.
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