Imperious Vettel to leave rivals scrapping for second and third

Sebastian Vettel’s dominance of the Indian Grand Prix’s second practice session is an ominous sign for those hoping his hot-streak would curtail before he had the title wrapped up.

The German and reigning world champ has come to the party at exactly the right time and only a malfunction in the construction department will prevent him from claiming his fourth straight victory. This is indicated in the shortening of his price to 8/11 to achieve this feat; he started the week at 1/1.

He finished half a second ahead of Fernando Alonso, the man he’s dislodged from the summit of the Driver’s Championship standings. The Spaniard doesn’t have a hope in India according to Ladbrokes, who have him down at a long-odds price of 9/2 for the win.

The Ferrari driver showed strong pace throughout the practice, however, and the tyres remained intact too, which means he shouldn’t be completely ruled out.

Mark Webber finished second in P2, which suggests he’s in with a shout in India, though it remains unlikely that he’d hamper his Red Bull teammate’s chances for a second successive world crown by taking the checkered flag at his expense.

His 7/1 will only come into play if Vettel falls way out of contention here which, given his form, this isn’t going to happen.
With the McLaren team struggling, the prices for Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button to podium, let alone win, are to be avoided.

The latter looked as though he might threaten at the Buddh International Circuit, yet gearbox dramas in practice have left them with a struggle on their hands.

Both Nico Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen recorded strong times in P2, finishing ahead of both McLaren drivers and they’re better bets to podium given their long prices. Finn Raikkonen is a 6/1 shot, while Rosberg is way back at 25’s.

All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date