For a split second last weekend, the Tenner Bet thought he was watching the Troubles flare up again on the benighted streets of Belfast: images of burning tyres, abandoned cars and irate drivers filled the screen; commentators screamed, and a flute band could be heard in the distance.
Was this a sneak preview of an exhibition by that fine purveyor of art, Michael Stone? Well, no actually. Instead, this modern depiction of Dali's Guernica was Formula One's British Grand Prix. The flute band was merely the Grand Lodge of Glasgow's annual Divine Ser-vice passing an open window of Herald Towers. Insert own joke about irate drivers here.
And with that seamless link, it's off to Germany for this weekend's grand prix action. There has been much talk in the aftermath of Silverstone. The drivers and teams have blamed the tyre manufacturers, while Pirelli have claimed the teams flouted safety instructions. Both, though, appear to accept that reversing the tyres and putting them on opposite axles was not the smartest move. All the while, little Bernie Ecclestone cackles into the sky as controversy dogs his sport. In Bernie's world controversy equals wonga and, for Bernie, more wonga brings the possibility of buying as many kinds of tinted glasses as money can buy.
GERMAN GRAND PRIX
Nico Rosberg has now won two of the last three races but you would be hard-pushed to say that the German fully deserved those victories. Nevertheless, the Mercedes is performing much more creditably and that is good news for Lewis Hamilton, who would surely have won at Silverstone had his tyre not blown at a crucial stage.
The same could be said of Sebastian Vettel, whose Red Bull gave up on him with a mere seven laps remaining to open the door to his compatriot Rosberg. Vettel's retiral coupled with Fernando Alonso's third place, allowed the Ferrari driver to narrow the gap on the German in the driver's championship to 21 points. Qualifying is not as important at Nurburgring (this weekend's venue) as Hockenheim, where this grand prix is staged biennially, but Ferrari are having problems with pace.
Hamilton, meanwhile, has yet to win a race this season and with qualifying less of a factor that will hurt his chances; Vettel has never won a German Grand Prix while the amendments to Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus have not had the desired effect as yet. Mark Webber was flying by the end of last weekend's race and might be worth watching again. He's 7/4 for a podium finish but preference is to back him each-way at 8/1. Since announcing his intention to join Porsche next season, he looks like a man with a new-found confidence.
The safety car was on track almost as often as the race cars at Silverstone but it is only 3/5 to make an appearance this weekend. The changes to the tyres that Pirelli have implemented ahead of the race coupled with the slow to medium corners at Nurburgring should mean that we don't see the yellow flag this time around.
SEASON'S TOTAL
The sports editor has been the object of my ire this week, for it was he who talked me out of recommending Sabine Lisicki to win the ladies' singles at Wimbledon because she was in line to meet Serena Williams in the last 16. Well, we all know how that one played out. Meanwhile, Raikkonen's poor return at Silverstone docked another tenner off the total. Peter Sagan and Alberto Contador are still contenders in their respective disciplines in the Tour de France, however. Total: £87.77
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