F1: Mercedes extend their lead but don’t count Ferrari out yet
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On the face of it, it was business as usual at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton leading home Nico Rosberg as Mercedes once again demonstrated their superiority over the pack.
Valtteri Bottas took advantage of his compatriot Kimi Raikkonen’s spin to claim his first podium of the season by coming in third ahead of the Ferrari driver, with Sebastian Vettel picking up an impressive fifth-place finish from the back of the grid.
Hamilton is now on 151 points for the season, 17 clear of his teammate and 43 ahead of Vettel, who is third in the standings.
The British driver is as short as 1/7 to retain his Drivers’ Championship crown, and most are now suggesting that, just as with last year, his only competition can come from Rosberg, who is priced at 5/1.
Vettel is 20/1 to grab his fifth world title, with his Ferrari teammate Raikkonen next in the betting at a mammoth 200/1. The Iceman is already 79 points behind Hamilton.
However, claims that the season will once again boil down to a two-horse race between Hamilton and Rosberg are premature, as we are yet to really see the improved Ferrari engine in action.
The Italian team opted to use three of their 10 in-season development tokens to give their car a much-needed boost, and their disappointing showing in Canada did not give a true picture of the possible impact of their upgrades.
Raikkonen’s spin on cold tyres at the hairpin on lap 29 ended any hopes he had of challenging, while Vettel started from 18th on the grid.
The German’s impressive charge through the pack to grab fifth place is a promising sign for Ferrari, and it’s worth waiting to see how Vettel performs in the upcoming Austrian Grand Prix before declaring for Mercedes.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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