Why is Michael Schumacher so short

[MGJohn]

in Bookies lists for the upcoming F1 season 2011? Do they know something we dont?

Here's bet365 with him 4th favourite at a skinny 10-1 :~

Formula 1 Drivers Champs 2011 Book Closes 11 Mar 09:00

Each-way 1/5 1-2-3

Fernando Alonso 11/4 Sebastian Vettel 3/1
Lewis Hamilton 3/1 Michael Schumacher 10/1
Mark Webber 10/1 Jenson Button 12/1
Nico Rosberg 12/1 Robert Kubica 16/1
Felipe Massa 20/1 Nico Hulkenberg 80/1
Adrian Sutil 80/1 Kamui Kobayashi 100/1
Rubens Barrichello 100/1 Jaime Alguersuari 100/1
Paul di Resta 100/1 Pastor Maldonado 150/1
Vitaly Petrov 150/1 Sebastien Buemi 250/1
Vitantonio Liuzzi 250/1 Heikki Kovalainen 500/1
Timo Glock 500/1 Lucas di Grassi 500/1
Christian Klein 500/1 Bruno Senna 500/1
Nick Heidfeld 500/1 Sergio Perez 500/1
Jarno Trulli 500/1 Jerome D'Ambrosio 500/1
Narain Karthikeyan 500/1
Others On Request

....and WHill's list :~

Drivers Championship 2011

5/2 Sebastian Vettel
3/1 Fernando Alonso
7/2 Lewis Hamilton
9/1 Nico Rosberg
10/1 Michael Schumacher
11/1 Mark Webber
12/1 Jenson Button
20/1 Robert Kubica
20/1 Felipe Massa
66/1 Adrian Sutil
100/1 Nico Hulkenberg
100/1 Rubens Barrichello
125/1 Kamui Kobayashi
125/1 Vitaly Petrov
150/1 Jamie Alguersuari
150/1 Sebastien Buemi
200/1 Pastor Maldonado
250/1 Paul Di Resta
250/1 Sergio Perez
250/1 Nick Heidfeld
500/1 Bruno Senna
500/1 Timo Glock
500/1 Jarno Trulli
500/1 Heikki Kovalainen
750/1 Jerome D'Ambrosio

1/5 Odds Place 1,2,3

===========================================================

So, how do the F1 Judges on PH see thing shaping up this season? Me... no idea before wheel has turned but M.Schumacher at a skinny 10-1 puzzles me.

[xr287]

No idea how these are calculated but if past results are included in any way in the calculation then it's naturally going to bump him up a bit

[RacerMDR]

~Jenson at 12/1 has got to be worth a grand

[RacerMDR]

RacerMDR said:

~Jenson at 12/1 has got to be worth a grand

ps Shoemaker in the wrong car.............if it was 100/1 might be worth a tenner

[mattikake]

Seems to me the bookies aren't daft. They know the most important factor is the car/team than the driver.

Seems that they think the Ferrari will be the best car, then the RedBull, then the McLaren, then Mercedes, the dark horse being the Renault. We all know that Alonso is better than Massa, Vettel better than Webber, Hamilton better than Button and Kubica better than Petrov. The generous part for the odds is Schumacher seems to be how he is rated against Rosberg and I guess that goes down to team favouritism and/or if Schumacher really was rusty last season... Even I wouldn't rule out a guy who has won the WDC 7 times by wrapping a team and car around himself, providing the Mercedes has made a big leap in the off-season.

[Gwagon111]

The "word on the street", is that this years Merc is an absolute gem. The KERS system is reputed to be the most advanced on the grid, the tyres will suit the car, and the team have developed some groundbreaking aero tech for this year. Add that to a hungry 7 times WDC behind the wheel, and you see where the bookies are coming from .

[Dangerous2]

what street?

[GarryA]

Because he has little legs?

[MGJohn]

Gwagon111 said:

The "word on the street", is that this years Merc is an absolute gem. The KERS system is reputed to be the most advanced on the grid, the tyres will suit the car, and the team have developed some groundbreaking aero tech for this year. Add that to a hungry 7 times WDC behind the wheel, and you see where the bookies are coming from .

Dangerous2 said:

what street?

Yes indeed ... "word on the street"...The Murk an ' absolute gem'... potential Dark Horse?

We need FACTS ... before parting with some of the hard to come by..
..

[MGJohn]

GarryA said:

Because he has little legs?

I wondered how long it would be...

With one or two exceptions, the majority of F1 drivers in recent years have been, shall we say, "Height Challenged".
.

[El Guapo]

The Pirellis (particularly the fronts) are also expected to be much more to his (and Massa's) liking.

[MGJohn]

El Guapo said:

The Pirellis (particularly the fronts) are also expected to be much more to his (and Massa's) liking.

Yes, he showed up well in recent tyre tests according to reports on another car site I visit. Better than his team mate apparently. Maybe that is the prime reason for the Bookies' pre-season caution.
.

[weyland yutani]

Didn't Alonso beat Massa's time around Abu Dhabi at the Pirelli test there?

[davepoth]

Remember last year's Mercedes was not to his liking, and it wasn't as developed as it might have been due to the Brawn GP situation.

If he had been driving all of last year knowing it wouldn't get any better, we wouldn't have seen him this year. Ross Brawn will have got a decent car together designed to Schumacher's liking, and he's going to do a lot better. Any idea what the odds are on him winning a single race this year are, because I bet they're very short.

[jonnylayze]

At 20:1 with William Hill, Kubica has to be worth at least an each way bet....

[EDLT]

How come Hulkenburg has better odds than Petrov, Hulkenburg is a reserve this year isn't he?

[Scuffers]

think it's all a but optimistic....