I'm not sure why Alonso and Button were so short before the AGP weekend given the well documented issues McLaren have had.

Malaysian Grand Prix 2015 Result
 

Pos. No. Country Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid

1 5 Germany Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 56 1:41:05.793 2
2 44 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 56 +8.569 1
3 6 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes 56 +12.310 3
4 7 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 +53.822 11
5 77 Finland Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 56 +1:10.409 8
6 19 Brazil Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 56 +1:13.586 7
7 33 Netherlands Max Verstappen Toro Rosso-Renault 56 +1:37.762 6
8 55 Spain Carlos Sainz Jr. Toro Rosso-Renault 55 +1 Lap 15
9 26 Russia Daniil Kvyat Red Bull-Renault 55 +1 Lap 5
10 3 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 55 +1 Lap 4
11 8 France Romain Grosjean Lotus-Mercedes 55 +1 Lap 10
12 12 Brazil Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 16
13 11 Mexico Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 55 +1 Lap 14
14 27 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Force India-Mercedes 55 +1 Lap 13
15 98 Spain Roberto Merhi Marussia-Ferrari 53 +3 Laps 19
Ret 13 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Mercedes 46 Brakes 12
Ret 22 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 40 Turbo 17
Ret 14 Spain Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 20 Power Unit 18
Ret 9 Sweden Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 2 Spun off 9
DNS 28 United Kingdom Will Stevens Marussia-Ferrari 0 Fuel system 20

Been a while!

Rosberg has a 33 points lead with 4 races to go. With only 100 points on offer and Nico in good form he will be hard to beat.

Rosberg $1.20
Hamilton $4.00

Rosberg now has lead of 26 points with 3 races to go

Rosberg $1.25
Hamilton $4.33

Rosberg to win only needs to finish second twice and third once
Hamilton needs to win all the three remaining races, Rosberg to finish one fourth or lower, or two of them in third

2016 US Grand Prix result
1 L Hamilton Mercedes 25pts
2 N Rosberg Mercedes 18 pts
3 D Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 15pts
4 S Vettel Ferrari 12pts
5 F Alonso McLaren Honda 10pts

Rosberg now has lead of 19 points with 2 races to go

Rosberg $1.25
Hamilton $4.51

2016 Mexican Grand Prix result
1 L Hamilton Mercedes 25pts
2 N Rosberg Mercedes 18 pts
3 D Ricciardo Red Bull 15pts
4 M. Verstappen Toro Rosso 12pts
5 S. Vettel Ferrari 10pts

Rosberg now has lead of 12 points with 1 race to go

Rosberg $1.25
Hamilton $4.85

2016 Brazil Grand Prix result
1 L Hamilton Mercedes 25pts
2 N Rosberg Mercedes 18 pts
3 M. Verstappen Red Bull 15pts
4 S Perez Force India 12pts
5 S. Vettel Ferrari 10pts

2016 Abu Dhabi result
1 L Hamilton Mercedes 25pts
2 N Rosberg Mercedes 18 pts
3 S. Vettel Ferrari 15pts
4 M. Verstappen Red Bull 12pts
5 D Ricciardo Red Bull 10pts

World champion Nico Rosberg has announced he has retired from Formula 1 with immediate effect.

The 31-year-old German won his first world title on Sunday, beating Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton by finishing second in the final race in Abu Dhabi.

"I have climbed my mountain, I am on the peak, so this feels right," Rosberg said.

Rosberg won nine of this season's 21 grands prix, beating three-time champion Hamilton by five points.

"For 25 years in racing, it has been my dream, my 'one thing', to become Formula 1 world champion," he added.

"Through the hard work, the pain, the sacrifices, this has been my target. And now I've made it."

The son of Finnish 1982 world champion Keke, Rosberg made his F1 debut for Williams at the Bahrain Grand Prix in 2006, finishing seventh.

And when asked if there was any chance of a return, Rosberg added: "No definitely not. End of story. Done."

By Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Shock news indeed with Nico's retirement.

Given the sweeping regulation changes for the 2017 season, I expect to see some good value next year.

I am tempted to place a few bets PRIOR to pre-season testing, and then making an assessment post pre-season testing for the season proper.

I expect Red Bull lead by Adrian Newey to have a fair crack at the WDC next year which is expected to be a more aero formula.

interview following Nico's retirement announcement
some interesting stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTjovArrtqI

That was very surprising news to me, but I looked at it this way - he achieved his goal and also lived up to his father's reputation (huge pressure), toured the world and then there's testing etc. He's a young man and wants to probably settle down with his wife. It's tough to be a family man and be away so much and still compete at the highest level. Plus they move the goal posts every year, it's getting ridiculous.

I think it takes lots of balls to do what he did - walk away from the best seat in F1.

But as you said, he has achieved his goal and that is all he wanted (and needed) to do to satisfy himself. From his account, it really took a toll on him and he wants to spend more time with his family. Reality check for all, more to life than driving around in circles as Niki Lauda once said.

It's not often you get personalities like Nico in F1, he has definitely left a really positive legacy.

Bookies rate Valtteri Bottas (8/11) or Pascal Wehrlein (11/10) as the likely replacement for Nico

latest statement, an announcement on Rosberg’s replacement not until 3 Jan at the earliest

Bottas is a shoe in for the Merc seat.

According to Sky Italia, Massa has signed a GBP 5mi contract with Williams for 2017, coming out of a very short retirement. It has yet to be announced.

I can't find any sites offering bets on the Merc seat.

currently, betfair
Valtteri Bottas 2/15
Nico Hulkenberg 20/21
Esteban Ocon 38/5
Pascal Wehrlein 9
Paul di Resta 66/5
Jenson Button 69/5
Others 20/1 & over

Cheers grizzle, I had not seen that.

next season f1 early market

Lewis Hamilton 5/4
Max Verstappen 4/1
Daniel Ricciardo 4/1
Valtteri Bottas 5/1
Sebastian Vettel 16/1
others 33/1 & over

Might be a case of "wait & see" before placing any worthwhile bets

For 2017,,cars will be wider,,heavier & run on fatter tyres
Wings will also be wider,,with the rear wing lower than is currently the case

as expected the new Mercedes F1 driver is Valtteri Bottas

Yep, both Bottas and Massa were announced today for a nice collect at $1.13 for the former.

Current WCC odds are:
$1.67 Mercedes
$2.50 Red Bull
$10.00 Ferrari

I wouldn't bother with any other team just yet below the top 3. I think Red Bull are still good value, given Merc has lost Rosberg and Paddy Lowe.

Ferrari are making a HUGE push after their disastrous 2016. If they don't deliver at least a race win, heads will roll in Maranello.

Cars are being launched from 21st February for the first test a week later.

Australian Grand Prix
current market

Lewis Hamilton $1.90
Max Verstappen $4.50
Valtteri Bottas $4.50
Daniel Ricciardo $5
Sebastian Vettel $15
Others $26 or better

Lewis Hamilton, too short for me.
Australia has always thrown up surprises being Round 1 and last year was only because of the crash on lap 18 which allowed Nico to win and Lewis to run second.
This year apparently there has been some major specification change yet again.
So $1.90 is definitely unders for me.

Not sure, but aren't there some more engine mods as well?

They're expecting lap times to be cut by around 3 seconds - increased aero & mechanical grip, combined with revised tyres to suit slightly heavier cars. Faster corner speeds rather than top speeds.

Market has changed considerably

Lewis Hamilton $2.48
Sebastian Vettel $4.60
Valtteri Bottas $7.60
Kimi Raikkonen $9.80
Daniel Ricciardo $12
Max Verstappen $13.50

Others $100 or better

Unfortunately I was not able to get onto the forum in the last month or so.

Ferrari showed blistering pace in testing and to no surprised were a match for Mercedes in Melbourne.

Prior to the first race, I was able to get Vettel @ $22 for the WDC and Kimi @ $55. After quali, Vettel was paying $4.00 for the race win. Unfortunately Red Bull and a punt on McLaren pushed out the wrong way.

I think Bottas is a value bet given his outing in Melbourne which is one of his worst circuits. Vettel and Ferrari can definitely have a crack at both championships.

Chinese Grand Prix Winner

Lewis Hamilton $1.85
Sebastian Vettel $3.05
Valtteri Bottas $14.50
Kimi Raikkonen $21
Daniel Ricciardo $44
Max Verstappen $90

Others $300 or better

dominant display by Hamilton

Ferrari's Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel will face no further sanction for his 'road rage' collision with Lewis Hamilton at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The German, a four times world champion, was given a 10 second stop-and-go penalty during the race for angrily banging wheels with his Mercedes rival while they were behind the safety car.
The International Autmobile Federation said Vettel, who turned 30 on Monday, attended a meeting at its Paris headquarters.
He admitted full responsibility, apologised and also "committed to devote personal time over the next 12 months to educational activities across a variety of FIA championships and events."
The governing body said that "in light of these developments, FIA President Jean Todt decided that on this occasion the matter should be closed."
-Source AAP.

A 10 second penalty is fine for taking another drivers racing line and causing a collision, but a road rage incident behind a safety car is inexcusable as Hamilton pointed out over his radio in a pointed but subtle fashion. These things have a way of evening themselves out, and I can see Hamilton beating Vettel due to better luck as well as skill in Austria.

..well done to our boy from perth..daniel ricciardo wins his fifth grand prix
..at one stage sat in 17th position..but got up to win an incident-packed azerbaijan grand prix
..got 80/1 :)

Relatively good odds for Hamilton today, even tho he's been struggling a bit of late

Over halfway into the season with a narrow lead to Vettel in the WDC. Although I think it's going to be tight all the way, I am now starting to consider cashing out my WDC bets. The races in Malaysian and Japan, which should favour Mercedes, might be worth waiting for before making that decision.

Kimi's inconsistency has allowed Mercedes to get a solid 40odd point lead in the Constructors.

I hedged out after Malaysia and thank god since Vettel's title hopes vanished in Japan. Still the races in Singapore and Malaysia really dented my profit margin.

Next season should be more open. Keep eyes peeled on testing next year. I find the markets are generally very slow to react to testing, as proven by this thread and pretty much every season I've seen since I've had internet (~2000).

I also think different tracks suit different setups.
Some suit Mercedes others suit Red Bull for example, it's hard to say in advance because each year the goal posts move.

2018 Formula 1 Drivers Championship Winner

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 2.25
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 5.00
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 5.50
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) 9.00
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 15.00
Fernando Alonso (McLaren) 17.00
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 34.00

Others 101.00 or better

2018 Formula 1 Constructors Championship Winner

Mercedes 1.75
Red Bull 4.00
Ferrari 4.50
McLaren 21.00
Renault 81.00
Williams 251.00
Force India 301.00
Haas 501.00
Sauber 501.00
Toro Rosso 501.00

Holy Guacamole Kiwiz!
Lewis Hamilton $2.25 before the season even starts, that's gross unders.
He has to win the Championship despite engine failures, crashes, one or two circuits not suited to last year's setup, punctures etc.
You'd think Red Bull learnt a lot about the failed transition from v8's to V6 turbos and have madly been engineering during the winter break.
I'd be happy to take Bottas and Vettel at those odds.

Well Hamilton should have won Round 1, I could see how shattered he was in the cockpit as he sat and pondered "how did that happen", it's not about the money anymore for him, it's about the competition.
Good news is, Ferrari are competitive and will beat Mercedes at a couple of circuits, however, I still think Hamilton will win another Championship, but the odds are gross unders for mine.
Interesting the new Halo seems to have been endorsed by most drivers and is less obtrusive than I thought. At least they have better safety for the drivers head now in the case of a rollover or slide under a track vehicle.

Where is the value in your opinion CP, if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers LG