Betting On Lewis Hamilton

Lewis HamiltonLewis Hamilton enters the 2015 F1 season as the odds on favourite to win the World Drivers’ Championship (WDC). He is coming off a dominating season in which he won 11 of 19 races. In the 8 he didn’t win, he made 5 additional podiums (2nd three times, and 3rd twice) and retired 3 times. He won the World Drivers’ Championship with 384 points, ahead of his Mercedes AMG teammate Nico Rosberg who finished runner up with 317.

A full two months before the season starts with the 2015 Australian Grand Prix, the best odds available for a punt on Lewis Hamilton to win the Driver’s Championship were 4/6 (-150 American Odds / 1.67 Decimal Odds). Betting exchanges such as Betfair offered similar such as 5/6 before commission. With him offered less than even money preseason, it will be likely difficult to find value betting on him in individual races too. I’ll address that in this article but first here is a quick bio.

Lewis Hamilton Bio

Born: 7th January 1985. Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England
Residence: Switzerland
Team: Mercedes AMG
World Drivers Championships: 2 (2008, 2014)

Hamilton F1 Racing Stats

*Through the end of 2014 Season

Races Started: 148
Career Poles: 38
Career Poles/Starts: 25.7%
Career Wins: 33
Career Wins/Starts: 22.3%
Career Podiums: 70
Career Podiums/Starts: 47.3%

Racing Style

Lewis Hamilton is known as an aggressive driver that is willing to take risks, often seen in his overtaking attempts. Hamilton is also known for being one of the better drivers in the rain. His aggressiveness isn’t always appreciated by other drivers, having been criticized for blocking on numerous occasions throughout his F1 career. For as long as his new Mercedes AMG team can give him cars with enough speed, Hamilton will be capable of winning additional World Drivers Championships.

Reasons for Recent Hamilton’s Success

Two seasons ago, in 2013, Lewis Hamilton made the change from team Team McLaren-Mercedes (now McLaren-Honda) to Mercedes AMG. He began his F1 career as a starter with his former team in 2007. He finished that year second in the points standings and then won the WDC the year following. F1 was in the second year of going from V12 to V8 engines when he began. During those first years on that engine, the World Constructors’ Championship (WCC) was very competitive. Then, from 2009-2013, it was dominated by Team Redbull and Sebastian Vettel.

During the period of Redbull and Vettel dominance, Lewis Hamilton was viewed as a hit-or-miss driver. He’s extremely aggressive, which usually resulted in good things. However, his aggression also got him into trouble from time to time. As one of the better passers in F1, this created interesting betting choices for Hamilton. He was a threat in any race, but had an inferior car that made it difficult to be a threat at winning his second WDC Championship.

This all changed in 2014. That season was the first year F1 changed using the current Supercharged V6 engines which match his aggressive style well. His new team AMG-Mercedes were superstars. They delivered by far the best cars, and with two strong drivers crushed the 2014 WCC by a wide margin.

Lewis Hamilton Betting Tips

Hamilton is no doubt the odds on favourite to win the 2015 WDC. This puts punters in a tough position as the odds are going to be small on him in virtually every race. If wanting to back him, it still might be best to do that as a season long bet where punters stand to profit on 67 pence for each pound bet on him to win. But one thing to consider is other teams come into this season with more time to prepare for the new car configurations. Ferrari will be gunning now that Sebastian Vettel has moved to their team. McLaren-Mercedes is now McLaren-Honda who has some edge in this configuration. Some punters might not be comfortable locking up money for an entire year at tiny odds.

To find value on Hamilton in 2015, it might be best to wait for the occasional races he starts lower on the grid. When he’s running good Hamilton is always a threat to win any race even when not starting P1 or P2. With his willingness to weave & block, he’s difficult to overtake, and also will pass others on many circuits. Extra value can be found in races he starts off the pole when rain is expected. He’s proven to be courageous driving in wet weather. Pay attention to weather reports 2-3 days in advance when his odds may be greater than deserved. Outside this, again, it might be difficult to find value on him this season. He is likely to win a lot of races, but the payouts relative to stake will be small as he’s likely a big favourite in most of those.

Detailed F1 Results

2014:

  • Team: Mercedes
  • Poles: 7
  • Wins: 11 (Malaysian Grand Prix, Bahrain Grand Prix, Chinese Grand Prix, Spanish Grand Prix, British Grand Prix, Italian Grand Prix, Singapore Grand Prix, Japanese Grand Prix, Russian Grand Prix, United States Grand Prix, and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix)
  • Podiums: 16
  • WDC Points/Standings: 384, 1st

2013:

  • Team: Mercedes
  • Poles: 5
  • Wins: 1 (Hungarian Grand Prix)
  • Podiums: 5
  • WDC Points/Standings: 189, 4th

2012:

  • Team: McLaren
  • Poles: 7
  • Wins: 4 (Canadian Grand Prix, Hungarian Grand Prix, Italian Grand Prix, United States Grand Prix)
  • Podiums: 7
  • WDC Points/Standings: 190, 4th

2011:

  • Team: McLaren
  • Poles: 1
  • Wins: 3 (Chinese Grand Prix, German Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix)
  • Podiums: 6
  • WDC Points/Standings: 227, 5th

2010:

  • Team: McLaren
  • Poles: 1
  • Wins: 3 (Turkish Grand Prix, Grand Prix Du Canada, Belgian Grand Prix)
  • Podiums: 9
  • WDC Points/Standings: 240, 4th