Formula One: Time to swerve bad luck and slow-starting Hamilton
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Lewis Hamilton’s hopes of winning the Italian Grand Prix lasted about two seconds on Sunday, after another slow start gifted victory to team-mate Nico Rosberg and it may be time to seriously consider backing the German to win this year’s title.
Rosberg’s Sunday afternoon stroll around the famous Monza circuit saw him close the gap to Mercedes team-mate Hamilton to just two points with seven races remaining.
But despite claiming his seventh win of the season, the bookies still fancy Lewis to be champion this season, with the Briton 1/4 favourite and Rosberg out at 3/1.
Given Hamilton’s misfortune this season however, it may be time to heed the warning signs and back the outsider in the title race at a very alluring price.
Hamilton’s sluggish getaway at the weekend – undoing a stunning qualifying performance – was the fourth time he’s failed to start well, following similar incidents in Australia, Bahrain and Canada.
Add in a plethora of car problems earlier this season – culminating in a 55-place grid-drop in Belgium – and perhaps it just isn’t going to be Hamilton’s year.
He certainly wouldn’t be the first to be beaten in a title race despite being the fastest driver.
Lewis himself knows all about that, having been the denied the championship in 2012 through car failures, while Kimi Raikkonen in 2005 can also attest.
Nico is yet to best his team-mate in a straight fight, and while a case can be argued that he lucked into all seven of his wins this year, sometimes sport can come down to just that, luck.
For now Hamilton seems unfazed by all the issues he’s had in 2016, but the Singapore GP next weekend kick-starts a seven-race showdown for the title, and the Brit will be desperately hoping for a change of fortune at the famous night race.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
