Breakthrough Hamilton win ignites F1 Driver’s Championship battle
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Lewis Hamilton’s debut win for Mercedes in Hungary has thrust the Brit firmly into the championship fight.
The win came against all expectations, and the 2008 world champion now lies a not insurmountable 48 points behind Sebastian Vettel.
Hamilton is 11/1 to claim a second world championship as the Formula One fraternity head off for the annual summer break before visiting the remaining nine rounds of the calendar.
Mercedes defied expectations that they would suffer badly with tyre wear in Hungary, and the result will cause much concern amongst their title rivals.
With seven pole positions and three wins, the W04 is arguably the fastest car on the grid and there is time yet for Hamilton to reel in title leader Vettel.
The German finished third in Hungary and is still the favourite at 1/5 for a fourth successive world championship thanks to four wins backed up with consistent points finishes this year.
Kimi Raikkonen’s second place finish at the Hungaroring edged him ahead of Fernando Alonso in the standings, and the Finn is 11/1 to add another title to his 2007 success for Ferrari.
The Lotus man is frequently the strongest over a race distance, but will need to get on top of his qualifying issues if he is to add to his only victory this year at the opening round in Australia.
Fernando Alonso was Vettel’s main contender earlier in the season, but after wins in China and Spain, the Ferrari man has been forced to take a back seat to the Mercedes and Lotus cars in the fight to wrestle the title away from the Red Bull star in recent races.
The Spaniard is a master at maximising every opportunity however, and a 10/1 price could prove rewarding with Ferrari ready to pounce should the top men slip up.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
