Is Gambling On F1 The Ultimate In High Risk Stakes?
Sunday 3rd August 2008
While it was a McLaren that took the chequered flag at today’s Hungarian GP, few had expected the face of Heikki Kovalainen to be the one emerging from the winner’s helmet at the end of the race. This was a race in which the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen had been expected to dominate but it all went wrong from the off, with the two McLaren’s being overtake by Filipe Massa in his Ferrari.
Massa then went on to open up a substantial lead over Lewis Hamilton who seemed to be a little off the pace in the early stages. The first pit stop was a little predictable with the two leaders coming out as they had gone in but then it all went horribly wrong for Hamilton. He caught some debris on the track which cut into his tyre shaving off the inner rim. Forced to limp nearly a full circuit with a flat he had no choice but to pit and rejoined the race in 12th place.
However there was more to follow with Massa seeing his engine blow up when literally 3 laps from home and miles ahead of the second placed car. While Hamilton made it up to 5th place to grab some championship points there is a suspicion that F1 is becoming something of a lottery not a gamble – then again it will also ensure there are some great odds to find for the brave!
