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The new car showed some decent pace in the last test day at Silverstone so maybe they could be a surprise result in Melbourne. They have a rejuvenated Heinz Harold Frentzen who is in the best from of his life since getting sacked by Jordan last season. Lack of funding will likely be the biggest problem. The team’s aim for the season has to be outperforming Jaguar who is using the factory version of the Cosworth engines.
The car is not bad for the resources they have, and always willing to try out new ideas. Sadly it rarely works for them and they seriously need a cash injection to move further up the grid.
Heinz Harold Frentzen
The German believes he has it all to prove since Jordan dumped him midseason for under performing.
Likely to run well in wet conditions when the lack of power should not hold him back too far.
Enrique Bernoldi
He’s had some fast times in testing this winter but it is unlikely that will translate to speed when the racing starts for real. Frentzen will prove to be too fast for him.
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| Betting Verdict |
1pt Mclaren to win Constructors Championship at 7/1
Drivers Championship - Coulthard for the title 12/1 is an excellent price. In Australia he was emerging as the main challenger to Schumacher, even with a misbehaving engine management system that kept launching him off the track. Admittedly much of his hopes rest upon the performance of the Michelin tyres and Mercedes engine, but that’s motorsport. Michael Schumacher at 2/5 is a non-starter.
Constructors Championship – The ominously good form of Ferrari has given them very poor odds at ½, but this is based on Michael Schumacher dominance. If Coulthard and Mclaren can raise their game, particularly when Ferrari run the new car for the first time to take advantage of the inevitable teething problems then they have an excellent chance at the title. Another major factor is the simple fact that if Coulthard is challenging for the title, then Schumacher is not running away in the points and so teammate performance will have a much larger effect on the outcome. This is where I feel Mclaren are better equipped to make a challenge with rising star Kimi Raikkonen.
Take the 7/1 on Mclaren winning the Championship
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