They say that form is
temporary, class is permanent and maybe Sebastian Vettel - on pole for the 31st
time in his career at Bahrain today – reminded us of his talents when all is
well with his Red Bull by taking the top spot from Lewis Hamilton in qualifying
on Saturday.With three winners of the first three race it’s easy to forget just
how dominant Vettel was throughought last year. Qualifying struggles – in China
Vettel failed to get into the top 10 qualifying shoot-out for the first time
since the Brazilian Grand Prix in October 2009 – had held him back but his race
pace had been decent enough to see him make up 4 and then 8 places in two of
the three Grands Prix this season.
Given those factors it’s no surprise to see him as short as
11/8 to resume his old ways from last season and he should take some catching
but there isn’t that gap between Red Bull and the other cars and 2009 winner Jenson
Button (left) makes a lot of appeal at 5/1.
Button lines up fourth on the dirty side of the grid but is
an all - out raceday specialist and with track conditions likely to bring skill
and tactical nous to the fore, he has to be highest on the list. With the Middle
Eastern Climate giving us temperatures that are expected to be twice as hot as
anything experienced on the circuit so far the control tryes given by Pirelli
have struggled badly for grip, with the whole field being effected and some
drivers making an extra effort to save their tyres for the race. For example Michael Schumacher, so quick with the
cool climate in Shanghai, struggled badly in qualifying, failing to make it to
P2 and ending up 17th (albeit having posted a time that he felt
would make it through only to be usurped late).
With four very lengthy straights and several swooping and
slow corners Bahrain places an emphasis on traction, straight-line speed and
braking, all areas where McLaren and Button have excelled when they’ve had the
chance to show their talents this season, as his opening win in Melbourne
showed. Things turned against him in the next two races but he was lapping 2
seconds faster than anyone else at times despite languishing in last after just
16 laps due to crashing with Narain Karthikeyan and breaking his front wing,
while a gap of 22 seconds between him and Nico Rosberg is flattering towards the German given how
Button’s botched pit stop – where a
sticky left-rear wheel delayed his getaway - lap 39 cost him badly, and the
fact that Button was able to snatch second says not only something about the
pace of his card but the talent he possesses behind the wheel. With the race
tomorrow likely to become a test of stamina on more than one level, he makes
great appeal at 5/1 in comparison to the top two on the grid while the 8/11 on
offer in places for a podium finish seems like a very solid bet.
Nico Rosberg has to take the eye in fifth given the pace
that the Mercedes have shown this season
and being the only driver with a set of new options for tomorrow has to
augur well although the temperatures in Bahrain might not be so conducive to
his tyre wear . Daniel Riccardo deserves huge credit for coming sixth although
he may well have been helped by the decision of some to take it easy with a
mind for the first stint of the race tomorrow; Kimi Raikkonen is an example of
that (he decided that it would be worth saving his tyres for Q3 instead of
going through).
Roman Grosjean once again is looking very quick in his Lotus
and a charge up the field wouldn’t surprise although I don’t see him making the
podium; Top 6 is a realistic aim though. Perez is a solid driver and along with
Di Resta he should be there or thereabouts, while Fernando Alonso has three
wins here.
All make varying amounts of appeal, but one driver who is of
interest is Pastor Maldonado (left). A talented driver – yes he may be funded partly
by the Venezuelan Government, but he is e 2010 GP2 Champion and a former Champion
of Italian Formula Renault - he’s driven extremely well this season but has
been sorely undeserving of a total as low as 5 points. If he’d settled for
seventh place in Australia then he’d have eanred more points for Williams there
they had during the whole of last season, while an engine malfunction in
Malaysia cost him some much deserved points once again. When all dropped right
he was a creditable eighth in China and that sort of result is by no means
impossible once again, so the 7/2 on him making the top 10 seems on the
generous side, especially given a good start – He was unable to post a time in
Q2 yesterday because of a KERS problem – with the race likely to change
complexions on multiple occasions. His
team mate Brunno Senna has two place finishes for this season (both when making
7 places from his position on the starting grid) and that makes the 7/1 about a
Williams double points finish excellent value.
Advice
1 pt Jenson Button (5/1 general)
4 pts Jenson Button Podium Finish (8/11 general)
2 pts Pastor Maldonado points finish (7/2 Ladbrokes)
1 pt Williams Double Finish (7/1 Bwin)
No comments:
Post a Comment