New Formula 1 Cars Presented

Vettel no longer in pole position

The longing is great in Italy. Scuderia Ferrari was able to secure the world title for the last time in 2007. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Italian racing team no longer sees Sebastian Vettel as the clear number one. Especially since the regular number two - Charles Leclerc - emerged from Vettel's (wind) shadow last year and surprisingly landed in fourth place; one place ahead of Vettel, of course. Ferrari seems to be setting the course for the future and has therefore extended Monegasque Leclerc's contract until 2024 at the end of 2019.

Betting providers clearly see Leclerc ahead of Vettel

Vettel's contract expires after the season. A look at the current odds also provides proof of the changing of the guard: The bookmakers do not trust Vettel to enter the title fight this season and only see him in 5th place. Leclerc, on the other hand, has fought his way up to 2nd place thanks to his strong last season. It is therefore hardly surprising that the FAZ Leclerc as a Formula 1 nerd who is about to replace Verstappen as the top talent.

Will we see the youngest world champion ever in 2020?

After the red car with the horse, Red Bull presented its new model on February 12th: RB16. Like last season, the engine comes from Honda and in terms of looks, this car doesn't differ significantly from the RB15. The designers have further optimized the nose of the car by adding another air intake. Max Verstappen's development is likely to be much more exciting than the technical details. The 22-year-old Red Bull driver is already entering his sixth season and was able to celebrate great success last year with a sensational third place. This put him in front of the two Ferrari drivers and behind the two Mercedes drivers. His teammate Alexander Albon finished eighth in his first season. Former Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost is also convinced of Verstappen's potential, but at the same time warns:

"He needs to get a bit under control. He still lacks calm in certain moments. (…) But if he has that and a good car, then he will be difficult to beat" - Alain Prost, former Formula 1 world champion

Verstappen could take the next step this year - as could Leclerc - as Prost explained to Le Parisien. He believes these two young drivers could become Hamilton's biggest competitors this season. This can be seen not least in the assessments of the sports betting providers. While the bookmakers at Tipico and Bwin rate Leclerc and Verstappen equally, according to bet-at-home the Monegasse is slightly ahead - despite the new air intake on the nose of Verstappen's new vehicle.

Shakedown of the Silver Arrows at Silverstone

Mercedes presented the successor model to the Mercedes-AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ in Silverstone on February 14th: F1 W11 EQ Performance. Whether the launch of the vehicle was deliberately scheduled for Valentine's Day - the day of lovers - will become clear at the end of the season. Then it will become clear whether the liaison between Hamilton and the German automobile manufacturer will continue, after all, the six-time world champion's contract ends at the end of the year. First, Valtteri Bottas was allowed to do a few laps at Silverstone before Lewis Hamilton was allowed to test his new vehicle in the afternoon.

The hunt for Schumi's record has begun

The extent to which the Bolide will be the final car for the coming season will become clear in the next few weeks. Mercedes already reacted at the beginning of the season last year gave the Silver Arrow an update. The goal for this season is clear. Finally catching up with the all-time record holder Michael Schumacher. Hamilton is still missing a world championship title by then. The bookmakers also believe that the chances of Hamilton winning his fourth title in a row are pretty good. While the odds for bet365 were 2.10 last year, he was even able to expand his role as favorite this year to 1.57.

Last launch and start of test drives

Test drives begin in Barcelona on February 19th. On the same day, Alfa Romeo Racing presents its new car for the 2020 season. The team of Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi is the last racing team to present its car for the coming racing season. It will also be interesting to find out whether this team will cooperate with the gaming provider Betsson again in 2020. This appeared as an official European partner last year. The Betsafe logo was depicted on the nose of the 2019 car. This provider is part of the Betsson Group and is not only a provider of sports betting, but is also one of the best online casinos in the test.

Formula 1 is becoming increasingly attractive for online providers

After it was announced in mid-January that the sports betting provider 188Bet would be the official Asia sponsor, it remains to be seen whether other providers will appear as sponsor partners. After all, the former managing director of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, spoke out against advertising deals of this kind for a long time. But already after his dismissal, a different development became apparent: the US owner Liberty Media and the British marketing agency ISG concluded a $100 million deal. If you believe the sports betting providers, Räikkönen and Giovinazzi will take the lower places this year. However, one should not forget: the same bookmakers also believed in Vettel's success in recent years. But in the end, Scuderia Ferrari's last World Cup triumph was 13 years ago. The driver back then: Kimi Räikkönen.