| Formula 1: Punters go mad for Lewis Hamilton |
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| Written by Zico Kelly | |||||||
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Sunday, 08 July 2007
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 The hysteria surrounding Lewis Hamilton at this weekend’s British Grand Prix is likely to spark the biggest ever Formula 1 gambling handle on Sunday. An estimated £10 million will be bet on the race in Britain alone according to industry insiders.Punters just can’t get enough of the youngster who has taken Formula 1 by storm in his first ever season. Sportbet.com has made Lewis Hamilton +180 odds to win the British Grand Prix. But everything didn’t go Lewis Hamilton’s way in Friday practice at Silverstone. Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa headed the times in second practice on Friday afternoon, as the Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli jumped up to challenge McLaren for runner-up status. Raikonnen was well clear of team mate Massa, with a lap in 1m 20.639s compared to the Brazilian’s 1m 21.138s, while Schumacher emulated Toyota’s pre-Magny-Cours test here with the third-fastest lap of 1m 21.381s. Lewis Hamilton subsequently matched that time and right behind the Englishman Trulli pushed his TF107 to 1m 21.467s to keep Fernando Alonso down in sixth place on 1m 21.616s in the second McLaren. Right behind them were the Williams duo, Nico Rosberg on 1m 21.619s and Alex Wurz on 1n 21.650s. Renault duo Heikki Kovalainen and Giancarlo Fisichella were next up, in 11th and 12th, with respective laps on 1m 22.189s and 1m 22.257s. Further back than normal was BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, on 1m 22.372s, ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard (1m 22.428s), BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld (1m 22.486s), Super Aguri’s Takuma Sato (1m 22.487s) and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello (1m 22.511s). With Jenson Button injured after aggravating the back strain he incurred in the first-corner accident in Indianapolis, Christian Klien found himself back in Formula One action as Honda’s reserve driver. He lapped his RA107 in 1m 23.833s to lead the Toro Rossos of Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi (1m 22.840s and 1m 23.105s), and the Spykers of Christijan Albers and Adrian Sutil (1m 23.113s and 1m 23.720s). The famous Copse corner proved difficult for many, Liuzzi, Hamilton, Raikkonen (twice), Rosberg, Sutil, Sato, Heidfeld (three times) and Fisichella all visiting the tarmac run-off area. Only Sutil damaged his car, after spinning into the tyre wall. Thankfully, he was unharmed. Sportbet.com has posted Formula One betting odds to win the British Grand Prix: LEWIS HAMILTON: +180 FERNANDO ALONSO: +225 FELIPE MASSA: +225 KIMI RAIKKONEN: +225 NICK HEIDEFELD: +2300 ROBERT KUBICA: +4000 GIANCARLO FISICHELLA: +4000 HEIKKI KOVALAINEN: +4500 JARNO TRULLI: +6000 NICO ROSBERG: +6000 MARK WEBBER: +8000 DAVID COUTHARD: +8000 FIELD (ANY OTHER): +500                        |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 07 July 2007 ) | |||||||