Is There A Gambling Flaw In Formula One Racing?
It has to be said that “F1” racing is the ultimate glamour sport, attracting the rich and famous, making grown men and woman drool at the speeds reached on the tightest of tracks, and coining the phrase “Pit Lane Babes”. It really does seem to have everything, speed, money and glamour!
However, there seems to be a potential flaw in the racing / gambling side of the industry, a flaw which can often be exploited - not all of the time, but at opportune moments - but what is it?
For many years we have seen the F1 teams work on team orders, which effectively means that “unofficially” one of their drivers holds “number one” drive status, something which is vital when trying to secure a big name - and the big sponsorship deals. We have seen situations in the past where this team status has been used to ensure that the “number one” driver has the best chance in each race, something which can, and has, effected the outcome of races and ultimately gambling wins.
In the current F1 series we saw “rookie” drive Lewis Hamilton contacted by his team mid race, and told to “pull back” to allow team mate, and “number one” driver Fernando Alonso a clear shot at wining the Monaco GP - Alonso finished first with Hamilton second. There was uproar in the gambling industry, with many unhappy punters calling for an investigation. An official investigation was held and the McLaren team were cleared of any wrong doing, with the authorities claiming their tactics were legitimate and did not effect the outcome of the race.
The fact that the F1 authorities have effectively “rubber stamped” the idea of “team orders” may offer some interesting gambling opportunities in the future, something that any F1 enthusiast should look out for.