Briton's home win sees him replace Rosberg as bookies' favourite
Monday 7 July 2014 13:45, UK
Lewis Hamilton’s grid-defying victory at Silverstone is being seen as a pivotal one by the bookmakers, with Sunday’s British GP win seeing him replace Nico Rosberg as the Drivers’ Championship favourite.
The 29-year-old reduced the deficit between himself and his Mercedes team-mate to just four points after coming from sixth on the grid to triumph in front of a jubilant home crowd.
Rosberg, in contrast, was forced to retire from the lead of the race due to a gearbox failure, prompting his title odds to drift out from 4/7 to 5/4 with Sky Bet in what is virtually considered a match bet.
Hamilton is now just 4/7 to secure his second Drivers’ Championship title after recording his fifth win of the season, the same amount of victories he managed in his previous triumphant campaign back in 2008.
An eighth win from nine races leaves Mercedes 158 points clear in the Constructors’ Championship, with Red Bull’s slender chances of retaining their crown reflected in odds of 50/1.
Sebastian Vettel is given even less chance of a fifth successive title at 100/1, currently sitting 95 points adrift of Rosberg after finishing fifth at Silverstone.
His team-mate Daniel Ricciardo has the same odds as he leads the pack chasing the Mercedes duo, with a podium place on Sunday meaning he has now managed a top-four finish in six of the last seven races.
Mercedes’ dominance has prompted Sky Bet to open up a separate market without Hamilton and Rosberg, with Ricciardo the 11/10 favourite followed by Vettel (7/4), Fernando Alonso (7/2) and Sunday’s runner-up Valtteri Bottas (7/1).
Sky Bet’s Formula 1 Trader Thomas Hudson said: “There’s very little between the two drivers and we did hold Rosberg as favourite as he established a lead on the basis of posting more consistent results before Sunday’s problems.
“However, as reflected in his capture of favouritism across the betting industry title race, Hamilton is rated as the marginally quicker driver, while the experience of being a former champion certainly strengthens his credentials.”
