sports mad Formula One starts in Bahrain

Formula One

Formula One starts in Bahrain with Jenson Button Michael Schumacher and Alonso all having to make there mark

F1 2006 - The Pressure Season

There has always been pressure for F1 drivers and their teams as they try to do their business of delighting fans and sponsors But in all the years of watching F1, I cannot remember a time when so many drivers and teams had something to prove except to drive fast.

Lets start with Jenson Button, having invested much of his own personal money to buy out his contract, now has to prove that this investment was worth it by winning races. If he does not win, he may as well have stayed at Williams who are hinted to be stronger than we first might have expected.

Then there is Michael Schumacher, who in his standards had a disastrous year last year only coming third in the championship and that embarrassing win in the USA. If he does not win the championship this year he may quit at the end of the season.

Alonso the current world champion will be feeling the pressure as he will want to prove that lasts year was not just a fluke and that he rightfully deserved to be the youngest ever world champion, especially as Renault have announced they will be leaving F1 in 2007.

Montoya had a few scrapes with the press last year with his tennis accident or motorcycle accident depending on what story you believe, that cost him points by missing some races. He is in Raikkonen's shadow at the moment, he will want shrug off last year and prove his driving talent.

Barichello who is now partnering Jenson Button at BAR has left his long-standing post of number 2 driver at Ferrari to be able to race with Jenson head on. He knows he has an opportunity to show what he can do and prove it was not just the strength of Ferrari that allowed him to win races.

Williams has lost its major engine supplier BMW and are now with Cosworth, many have written Williams off this year. Frank Williams will want to prove everyone wrong; it may be for the security of the team, his team will need to perform like they never have this season. Toyota have one of the biggest budgets in F1 but have little to show for it, they will be pushing more than ever to prove theinvestment was worth it. BMWs new team (ex Sauber) will want to show it was worth the move from engine supplier to Williams to a fully-fledged team.

Other new teams are the 2nd Red bull team who bought out Minardi and a brand new Japanese team called Aguri who know they wont win any races but still need to finish them with very time to prepare for Bahrain. There is still much more to talk about, it just seems like a huge list of personal challenges and corporate ones too. What is certain though, the 2006 f1 season already has a lot going for it and I for one can't wait.

About the author: Mark Flanighan is webmaster to www.breakdown-cover.net/aa-breakdown-cover.htm

With another set of new rules and restrictions in place for this season, as well as new teams, it will be interesting to see who’s in the points. As well as individual bets on each team and driver in each race, spread betting bookies Sporting Index also have a bunch of bets that last the whole season. More details of these are below, however if you haven’t got a Sporting Index account, it’s a good time to take advantage of the cash on offer to new clients:
Free £100 Cash for New Clients**
Open a Sporting Index account* and place ten sports bets (each with the potential to win and lose £20), and you can claim a free £100 straight into your account**.

Sporting Index is running a market on how many points each driver will have at the end of the season. The latest prices are: Formula 1 Drivers Season Points Driver:          Bet Low   Bet High Alonso                90             94
Raikkonen           76             80
M.Shumacher      72             76
Button                 70             74
Montoya             62             66
Fisichella             58             62

How does it work?

Sporting Index has made the above predictions, on how many points each driver will have at the end of the season in Brazil. Depending on what you think of a driver, you will either “bet low” or “bet high”.

For example, let’s look at Jensen Button. Sporting Index is predicting that he will get 70 to 74 points this season, so you have a choice to make: a) Will Button get MORE than 74 points? or b) Will Button get LESS than 70 points? Let’s say you think 2006 will be his season, that he will spend plenty of timing showering champagne from the podium, and you’re betting with a stake of £5 per point. If you’re right and he manages a total of 90 points, then he’ll have 16 points more than the price at which you placed your bet. You would therefore win (90 – 74) x £5 = 16 x £5 = £80. However, he could have a poor season and fail to pick up the points, for example finishing with just 64 points. Because you “bet high” at 74 at a stake of £5 per point, you would therefore lose (74 – 64) x £5 = 10 x £5 = £50.

For all the latest prices and to open your account, CLick here!!! Sporting Index is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The information contained herein is for your general information and use. In particular, it does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by Sporting Index Ltd and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining to make) any specific decisions

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