Rosberg To Win Battle Of Britain

Nico Rosberg will be hoping for a fourth Grand Prix win of the season at Silverstone this weekend, as he aims to cut Lewis Hamilton’s Drivers’ Championship lead.

The Season So Far
Rosberg emerged triumphant from the Red Bull Ring to win his third Grand Prix of the season. Having stolen the lead from Lewis Hamilton at the start, he held onto it throughout and his victory enabled the German to close the gap on Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship to just ten points.

A pit stop delay ultimately cost Sebastian Vettel a place on the podium as Felipe Massa held on for third, while Fernando Alonso’s miserable McClaren experience continued with his fifth retirement of the season, thanks to a nasty collision with Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari.

The Circuit
Silverstone’s sweeping curves and high speed corners make it one of the faster tracks on the racing circuit. Overtaking is a lot easier than at most circuits, so there isn’t quite the usual pressure on grid position. And then there’s the great British weather to bear in mind.

At the moment, rain is a possibility for both Saturday and Sunday, and unpredictable precipitation can play havoc with a Formula One team’s strategy.

In The Pits
Spare a thought for Kimi Raikkonen. While Sebastian Vettel has managed to maximise the performance of his Ferrari, Raikkonen has invariably trailed in behind his team-mate and has just one podium finish to his name so far this year.

His wheel-spin on the opening lap in Austria was particularly unfortunate, but he’s low on confidence at the moment and doesn’t appeal at odds of 25/1.

Recommended Bets
Nico Rosberg’s victories in Spain and Monaco may have owed something to Lewis Hamilton errors, but there was no questioning his dominance in Austria. He was sharper from the grid than his team-mate and proceeded to hold him off impressively – the third time this season that Hamilton has started on pole but lost the race.

The Englishman will be popular with punters ahead of this race, but the Drivers’ Championship is a genuine two-way battle and Rosberg is the value at odds of 15/8.

Williams have been closing the gap on Ferrari in the race for second in the Constructors’ Championship and Austria saw them outscore their rivals for the second race in a row.

Felipe Massa has often been overshadowed by Valtteri Bottas for most of the season, but he out-performed his young team-mate at the Red Bull Ring and at 66/1 he’s worth backing to take advantage of any Mercedes slip-ups at a circuit where he has finished in the top six four times in the last six years.

The final name to add to your Silverstone shortlist is Nico Hulkenberg. The newly-crowned Le Mans champion is driving with plenty of confidence at the moment, and Force India are showing signs of improvement.

With an upgrade package being introduced ahead of this race, there could be more to come and Hulkenberg represents an interesting each way bet at 250/1.

*Prices correct at time of publication.