F1 Betting: Vettel victory sees his Driver's Championship odds shorten

Sebastian Vettel after winning the Singapore Grand Prix

James Frankland updates us on the current odds in the Driver's and Constructor's Championships after Sebastian Vettel won the Singapore Grand Prix...

Lewis Hamilton's championship charge hit the buffers on lap 41 as a gearbox failure forced the McLaren driver into retirement, gifting first place to Sebastian Vettel who converted it into his second win of the season, to move himself into second place in the Driver's Championship and in doing so, shorten his odds of retaining the title to 4.216/5.

As a result of Hamilton's gearbox malady the Briton has drifted out to 11.5n/a, reflecting the 52-point gap between himself and points leader Fernando Alonso with six races to go.

Lady Luck is certainly smiling on the Ferrari driver at present, as he still retains a healthy points lead - now 29 points over Vettel as opposed to 37 in front of Hamilton at the start of the race - and his odds of 1.538/15 reflect his ability to find results where perhaps they might seem improbable, keeping his title hopes alive in the process.

The retirements of Hamilton and fellow front-row starter Pastor Maldonado, who limped out of the race during the second safety car period, promoted Alonso to third place but he did not have the pace to challenge runner-up Jenson Button.

Kimi Raikkonen remains in third place in the Driver's Championship but struggled to make an impression in the Singapore Grand Prix, finishing sixth almost 35 seconds behind the winner. 44.043/1 are big odds for someone as experienced as Kimi, but he doesn't seem to have the machinery under him right now to challenge. The debut of Lotus' vaunted Double DRS system in Japan may change things, but I see the title race coming down to a three-way tussle between Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel.

Despite his retirement, I'd be inclined to back Hamilton at this stage, especially as his odds now stand at 11.5n/a with Vettel much shorter at 4.216/5 despite only being 23 points ahead. McLaren have shows they have the fastest car lately with four pole positions and three wins from the last four races and one failure to finish for Vettel can change everything, so don't rule Hamilton out of contention.

Ferrari found the speed to haul Alonso into the championship lead at mid-season but I doubt they have another such upgrade step in the pipelines, with the Spaniard himself admitting the Ferrari is the fourth-quickest car at best.

Red Bull extended their championship lead over McLaren by eight points, although the picture would have looked very different had Hamilton not been forced to retire. 37 points isn't a huge lead and McLaren's pace and recent results suggests that 2.789/5 for the Woking team to win is a decent figure at which to place your money.

McLaren have taken 33 points out of Red Bull's lead over the last four races - if they continue that form in the next four, then they will be right on the tail of the Bulls going into the last two races in USA and Brazil.