Hamilton fancies his title chances

The Brit must improve on race one

The Formula One season returned on Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel getting his season off to a flyer by leading rival Lewis Hamilton home to bank the 25 points.

The curtain raiser doesn’t appear to have done too much to sway the opinions of traders however, and Coral have the German speed-freak priced up as 5/4 second-favourite to win this year’s drivers’ championship. Employers Ferrari also head the chasing pack in the constructors’ championship, and can be picked out at 7/4.

Mercedes make an early impression

They may not have won the race, but the new Mercedes car certainly made headlines in Melbourne, following a bit of a tough time of it in pre-season testing. Lewis Hamilton started in pole, but finished on the second-step, bagging 18 points, while teammate Valtteri Bottas started third and held his position for a podium finish. The latter was a real eye-catcher on the day, and he may show up in the bets of those who love a price, with 10/1 circling.

Taking two of the three major places obviously did the trick in winning over the odds compilers, and Mercedes remain favourite to finish up on top, currently a 1/2 shot with us. That particular market has already been made a two-horse race, with Red Bull lagging behind at 12/1, while backing Williams won’t bring you much joy, 500/1 the current quote.