The Tenner Bet

Deputy Sports Editor

Saturday 21 July 2012

Just like Olympic buses, you wait for one winning bet to come along .

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James Morgan

. . and you wait . . . and you wait a bit longer . . . and then, unlike Olympic buses, two come along at once.

Yes, there was something uncannily portentous about the 10/1 shot that was put up as one of last week's selections, not least because it was the final Tenner Bet of what had been an arduous year until a fortnight ago.

There were plenty of winners along the way but none which had yielded a significant return and so the season took on a two-steps-forward, four backwards dimension. That all changed with the respective victories for Mark Webber and Danny Garcia over the previous two weekends to leave the final total at a very respectable profit of £171.87.I've been toying with the idea of altering the column to focus on specific events with topic headings but since it is a concept that would lend itself more readily to the football season, I'm inclined to leave things as they are at least until the Scottish Premier League commences in a fortnight – not least because it allows me the opportunity to tag the total of £171.87 on to the end of the column for couple of weeks.The habitual search for something to punt on during the summer months shows no signs of improving and so I'm tempted to take another look at the F1, not least because I'm actually curious to discover if my beginner's luck was just that. In any case, it hardly matters since there's a fair amount of winnings in the bank and the dunt it's going to take should we lose will be considerably less injurious than a Kamui Kobayashi pitstop.This weekend, the F1 circuit moves to Germany and, specifically, Hockenheim which has alternated with Nurburgring as the venue since the European Grand Prix of 2007 was staged at the latter.That race was the first time an F1 event in Germany had been held away from Hockenheim since 1995 and was won by Fernando Alonso, the current leader in the drivers' championship.The Spaniard has a formidable record in Germany having won the de facto German GP twice both times at Hockenheim (he was second in the race last year behind Lewis Hamilton at Nurburgring). Whichever course this grand prix is staged at, one team stands out. Ferrari have dominated proceedings since the first GP was held in 1926. No team comes close to the Italian constructor's 21 victories and that record alone would make Alonso a logical pick this weekend. That he has course form merely franks it further.There will, of course, be plenty of support for Sebastian Vettel, but the Red Bull driver has struggled in his home grand prix – a second at Nurburgring in 2009 is his best effort – and the German will be hoping for a downpour that looks unlikely to come.Of the Red Bull drivers, Webber has the better record while even Hamilton, who has two previous victories in this race, including a win apiece at the respective venues, looks to be better value than last year's champion driver.Selection Fernando Alonso to win the German Grand Prix (9/2, general)Season's total £171.87

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