Kimi Raikkonen showed that the Lotus will be competitive this season in claiming the opening race of the season in Melbourne last week. After inconsistent showings last year, the Lotus seems to be on course to challenge the top teams this term, in what looks likely, at this stage of the season, in any event, to be a three team scramble at the top of the timesheets, with the British-based team joining Red Bull and Ferrari as the leading contenders for the honours.
We take a look at the early odds for the Malaysian Grand Prix that takes place this Sunday below.
Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying And Race Odds
| Driver | Qualifying Odds | Race Odds | |
| Vettel |
5/6 |
5/2 |
|
| Webber |
4/1 |
12/1 |
|
| Raikkonen |
5/1 |
15/8 |
|
| Hamilton |
12/1 |
12/1 |
|
| Alonso |
14/1 |
4/1 |
|
| Rosberg |
20/1 |
25/1 |
|
| Massa |
28/1 |
28/1 |
|
| Grosjean |
40/1 |
28/1 |
|
The Friday practice confirmed the early trends plotted out at Albert Park last week, with the Lotus, Red Bulls and Ferraris all within a few tenths of a second of each other, with Mark Webber topping the timing sheets in the morning session, and Kimi Raikkonen leading the way in the first part of the afternoon session before a downpour cut the session short. Rain may again play a part over the course of the weekend, as it did during the qualifying session last week. The unpredictable nature of Malaysia’s weather, which alternates between the extremes of blistering hot or torrential downpour, could again shake things up as the teams look to settle into a rhythm.
Last year’s race was won by Fernando Alonso, who had to fight off a late challenge by then-Sauber driver Sergio Perez. The likelihood of Perez (66/1) challenging again this weekend look slim, after McLaren saw a disappointing start to the season last week in Australia carried forward to Friday’s practice. However, an Alonso repeat pays off at an interesting 4/1. The Ferrari looked to have good race pace last week, and only had victory taken away from them due to a different pit-stop strategy employed by the Lotus.
Following last week’s victory, Raikkonen enjoys the shortest odds for Sunday’s race at 15/8, with defending champion Sebastian Vettel following with 5/2. The top three teams look to be closely matched this weekend, with the Mercedes following a close fourth. The German outfit closed the afternoon session almost a second behind the pace in seventh and ninth with Niko Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton respectively, but team boss Ross Brawn hinted at them having tried out a heavier fuel load, with a view to gauging the effects on tyre degradation, and will be expected to be closer to the top in Saturday’s qualifying and on Sunday’s 56 lap race over the fast-speed Kuala Lampur circuit.
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Tagged With : Alonso • Ferrari • Formula One • Hamilton • Lotus • Malaylsian Grand Prix • Mercedes • Raikkonen • Red Bull • Vettel