Formula One Betting - Chasing the F1 Constructors Championship
by Charles Jay
F1 Title Chases Winding Down
BetUS Sportsbook F1 Odds
To Win 2009 Constructors Championship
Brawn GP -10000 (146.5 pts)
Red Bull +1600 (105.5 pts)
There are four races left in the season - Singapore on Sunday, Japan next Sunday, Brazil on October 18 and the season finale in Abu Dhabi on November 1. In all likelihood the team championship is wrapped up, with Brawn GP benefiting from a couple of wins by Rubens Barrichello to take a 40-point lead over Red Bull, which at this point would have to outscore Brawn by an average of ten points per race to gain a tie.
Jenson Button has not been lighting things up, although he may be able to hold on to first place in the driver standings, but Red Bull is going to have to hope that Barrichello, who won at Valencia and Monza, gets very cold all of a sudden. Barrichello is listed at +450 at BetUS to win at Singapore, as is teammate Button. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull is +850 at BetUS Sportsbook, while Mark Webber is +1200.
Here are their odds on getting a points finish:
Rubens Barrichello -350
Jenson Button -350
Sebastian Vettel -200
Mark Webber -150
Dietrich Mateschiltz, who owns the Red Bull, laid the blame at the team's misfortunes lately on the Renault engine the team's cars have been using (as if Renalt needed more brand bashing this week). He concedes that the constructors' title chase is more or less over, adding "The reasons for this are that our engines are inferior to some of the competition, and the rules that limit the drivers to eight engines per season without testing or development."
Red Bull is reportedly seeking talks with Mercedes-Benz on the development of an engine, but those possibilities may go nowhere since Mercedes is buying a substantial interest in the Brawn GP team, which looms as the main rival this year and will certainly be among the strong contenders next season.
To Win 2009 Drivers Championship
Jenson Button -500 (80 pts)
Rubens Barrichello +350 (66 pts)
Sebastian Vettel +3500 (54 pts)
Mark Webber +7500 (51.5 pts)
No less an authority than Michael Schumacher is very confident that Jenson Button is going to come away with the drivers' title at season's end. It's not such a bold prediction, as Button is the leader by 16 points over teammate Rubens Barrichello, and is the -500 favorite in the BetUS Formula One futures. "It's very hard to take it away from him," said Schumi, "particularly knowing the problems and reliability issues they have had at Red Bull."
Meanwhile, Button may not even be kept on the Brawn team next year. Since Mercedes-Benz is moving in, and would like to have a German driver on one of its teams, the rumor is that Nico Rosburg (currently with Williams) has agreed in principle to move over for the 2010 season. It would seem unlikely, however, that Brawn GP would drop a world champion driver, so it's quite possible that whoever comes in second between Button and Barrichello could be the guy in the move.
Former F1 driver David Coulthard, a Red Bull Racing consultant writing in the London Daily Telegraph, believes Button will do better in Singapore because it is a street course, and favors Barrichello in Brazil because "he grew up a stone's throw away...and has probably driven it more than any other driver in the history of the sport." In the end, he says Button will be the champion and deserves it.
"Jenson is in the middle of his career rather than at the end of it; he is photogenic; less highly strung and emotional than the Brazilian; he carries himself brilliantly and speaks intelligently," writes Coulthard.
Button says that his body clock will switch a little to accommodate the late start in Singapore. "As last year, we will stay on European timing for the race weekend," he told the Telegraph, "which means staying awake throughout the night and sleeping most of the day to ensure that we are alert and the body is ready to react in the right way for the evening timetable."
Barrichello, who has the hot hand and is +350 to win the drivers' title at BetUS, is ready for a strong stretch run. For him to come away with the crown, his teammate would have to experience some degree of failure, but he is willing to let the chips fall where they may. It is a refreshing change from the old days at Ferrari, when he was second fiddle to Schumacher. "For many years people asked why didn't I leave Ferrari before. Well, because the car was the best available."
It's that simple. Now the Brawn car is the best available, and this may be his last chance at the brass ring, because no one knows what is going to happen at Brawn with the arrival of the Mercedes people.
