Singapore Grand Prix Preview

Singapore Grand Prix | 21 September - 23 September | Marina Bay, Singapore

As Formula One heads back to Asia this week, fans of the sport are going to be looking forward to seeing their idols race around Marina Bay in Singapore in what must be one of the more novel races on the circuit. The floodlit streets located mere kilometres from the city’s financial centre, whose high-rise buildings dominate the horizon, are a sight to behold at the best of times but when you’ve got the best drivers in the world tearing those streets apart it becomes a different sight entirely. With the time difference between here and Singapore the race should fit perfectly into any armchair fanatic's TV viewing schedule, as the start will fall bang in the middle of Sunday afternoon. For any racing fan, there can be few better ways to spend a Sunday than around the braai with some F1. The only way I can see it being any more exciting is if you have a bet or two on, so I’m here to help you find out exactly where to place that hard earned cash.

To Win Outright
Lewis Hamilton  22/10
Fernando Alonso  4/1
Jenson Button      5/1
Sebastian Vettel  7/1
Kimi Raikkonen  9/1

Controversy and History
Before attempting to find some winners, let’s have a look at how this race has panned out over the last few years. The race was introduced into F1 in 2008 and it was then that the Spaniard Fernando Alonso won the first of his two victories here. This win was marred by the revelation in 2009 that Alonso’s then team-mate, Nelson Piquet Junior, had been instructed to crash into a wall, ensuring a safety car was brought out. Seeing as Alonso was the only driver to pit before the crash, he went on to win and when this scandal was uncovered in 2009, the media had a field day. The team principal and chief engineer were banned from the sport for life and for five years respectively, however these bans were overturned. So there you go. Should you find yourself around mates on Sunday, throw that little tidbit out there to impress them.

Seeing as though the race has only been in existence for four years, there’s little history to go on, but as I said earlier Alonso has won twice, in 2008 and 2010, with a win in 2009 by Lewis Hamilton and with Sebastien Vettel taking the honours last year. Since the 2008 race, which was marred by crashes and controversy, the track has been amended and modifications to turns 1,2 and 3 now aid overtaking whilst turn 10 has also been modified since the high curbs there in 2008 caused problems.

So with all of this information in mind, let’s turn an eye to the markets on offer and see if we can find some winning bets.

To Win Outright
In my mind, you can’t go wrong having a bet on Fernando Alonso to win for the third time here and at 4/1 a win, he seems to be a very good bet. If you’re one of those who are fairly new to betting and would rather play it safe, there is also the option to take a place bet which means if he manages a podium finish you’ll get 8/10 about the place, a great option if you’re stringing together a weekend multiple.

If you’re looking for a bit more value than that, you could certainly do worse than betting on defending champion Vettel to end up on the podium at 14/10. Although he currently only sits 4th in the Drivers rankings, we all know he is capable of great things and he will be coming into this one with a bit of confidence seeing as though he won it last year.

Other Markets
Seeing as though there are a number of options to bet on for the keener punters out there, let me quickly turn my eye to the other markets and see where the value lies.

Ferrari to win at 3/1 seems a decent bit of value seeing as though my best bet, Fernando Alonso, drives for them. For those of you who have a mean streak and just watch to see the crashes, back HRT to be the constructor to retire first. At 9/2 you can’t go wrong but just make sure you don’t cheer too loud if you’re watching in the pub. No-one likes an ambulance chaser….

So there you have it. Hopefully this helps you out if you’re looking into placing some bets on what should be a very exciting race.

Written by @Matt_Cee for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!

Bet on this tournament now at Hollywoodbets.net! Haven’t got an account? Open one here now!