The Black Stuff

So, the cars have been out for their first practice sessions, giving fans a chance to have a butchers at who looks good and bookies a chance to change their odds accordingly. We’ve already had a look at the best of the opening odds, and now we’ll have a look at what to make of it heading into practice on Saturday. All odds are supplied by Bet365.com, and don’t forget that if you head over there to put a cheeky little bet on the weekend’s action they have bonuses worth up to £200! Yay!

Just to be boring for a moment; all odds are accurate at time of publication and are subject to change. Just because we recommend a bet, it isn’t any guarantee that it will in. If we could predict the future to any viable degree of accuracy, we’d be at Monaco rather than writing all about it.

So then, to the odds! 

To Win – Pastor Maldonado, Williams @ 14/1
Maldonado has slipped from 11/1 to 14/1 since yesterday, and I’m not entirely sure why. He came home fifth in both of Thursday’s practice sessions, surely a sign that he’ll be up there as the weekend progresses, and did it all under the radar. As we noted yesterday, Maldonado is an absolute beast around the streets of Monaco, picking up 2 wins and 2 podiums in GP2 and then running very high up in last year’s race in his dog of a Williams before being punted off by Hamilton. Every driver has a track that they get on with, and Monaco is Maldonado’s. At 14/1, this is worth a punt.

To Win – Fernando Alonso, Ferrari @ 4/1
The odds are nowhere near as attractive for Alonso to pick up the victory on Sunday, but right now it is the safer bet. The guy has been in beast mode all season, and around the streets of Monaco – where the driver makes all the difference – he’s looked very impressive. Still, as we said, at 4/1 the returns aren’t as good as the other front runners (Maldonado @ 14/1, Raikkonen now @ 6/1,  Button @ 8/1, etc.) so it might be worth holding off to see if his odds slip with Sunday fans putting their 10ers down and making Hamilton a bigger favourite.

Top 6 Finish – Felipe Massa, Ferrari @ 6/1
I know, I know… this season Massa hasn’t exactly been on top form. Or middle form. Or arguably bottom form. Still, the Brazilian gets on very well with Monaco. In the last 5 years he’s only finished outside the top 5 once, and that was last year when he got into a little disagreement with Hamilton. Massa has been speaking very positively this weekend, saying that his season starts now, and he’s heading to a track where historically he’s been up the business end of the field.

Winning Car – Lotus @ 7/2 or McLaren @ 7/4
This is simple maths here, people. Both McLaren and both Lotus drivers have looked lively so far this weekend, while only one driver from the other teams with the ability to win has done. Well, that’s a little lie, as both Mercedes drivers have looked handy, but Schumacher’s grid drop all but rules him out of contention. Anyway, the way I read the race, Lotus and McLaren are the only two teams with both of their cars in contention so there is a better chance of one of their cars winning.

So that, that is it for now. Just to touch on one thing that is glaringly obvious; I haven’t touched on qualifying odds. Detailed qualifying odds have been slow to be released, especially in light of yesterday’s wet FP2, as nobody’s true pace is really that obvious. The only qualifying odds out at the moment are “Fastest Qualifier” and with the prospect of rain tomorrow, that is a risky wording for qualifying betting.

Right, we’ll be back on Saturday afternoon at some point to see what race odds are out there before the big show on Sunday. Don’t forget to swing by Bet365.com where you can get £200 worth of goodies to have a punt on the weekend’s action with.