Lewis Hamilton is determined to start at the front of the grid in this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix and Sky Bet make the McLaren driver 11/8 to qualify on the front row.

Hamilton has been the subject of most early support ahead of the race and his odds of victory have been cut to 100/30 (from 9/2). For the past two races, Hamilton has managed to finish in the points despite starting outside the top ten and is 1/7 to pick up more points on Sunday and 4/6 for a podium finish.

After topping the timesheets in both of Friday’s practices, McLaren are into 15/8 (from 3/1) to be the winning team and Sky Bet have also cut Jenson Button’s odds of winning the race to 7/1 (from 10/1) after the reigning world champion was fastest in the first session.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel remains favourite for back-to-back wins in Shanghai but has been eased slightly to 7/4 (from 13/8).

Sky Bet’s Formula One betting spokesman Dave Pilgrim said: “Lewis has started the weekend strongly, and with McLaren adding fresh upgrades to the car this weekend, the team are confident of an improved showing in China. Hamilton needs a big race to boost his title aspirations, but we reckon the Red Bulls are still the team to beat.”

Chinese GP Race Winner - Race Winner
Vettel, S 7/4 Hamilton, L 10/3
Webber, M 5/1 Alonso, F 11/2
Button, J 7/1 Rosberg, N 14/1
Massa, F 16/1 Schumacher, M 25/1
Kubica, R 33/1 Sutil, A 66/1
Barrichello, R 125/1 Liuzzi, V 150/1
Hulkenberg, N 200/1 Buemi, S 200/1
Petrov, V 200/1 Alguersuari, J 250/1
de la Rosa, P 300/1 Kobayashi, K 300/1
Trulli, J 1500/1 Kovalainen, H 1500/1
Glock, T 1500/1 Di Grassi, L 2500/1
Chandhok, K 2500/1 Senna, B 2500/1

Hamilton Specials
Win the Race 10/3
Finish on the Podium 4/6
Finish in the Points 1/7
Fastest Qualifier 4/1
Set Race Fastest Lap 7/2
Lead after 1 Lap 4/1
Retire on 1st Lap 20/1
Caught Speeding in Pit Lane 50/1

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