Button looks to fasten Formula One Title Hopes at Monza

Formula One World Championship leader Jenson Button is looking to literally get back on track this weekend, as he looks to turn around a bad run of form. The British Driver won 6 out the first 7 Grands Prix at the start of the season, but has since found points lacking. This dip in form has allowed his Brawn-Mercedes team mate Rubens Barrichello to close the gap to just 14 points, with a maximum of 50 points obtainable for any driver to get from the remaining five races.

The scoring system for the 2009 championship had been threatened to be altered, giving the winner of the most races the championship. This was overturned however, and the familiar points scoring system stayed the same. Several financial rules were endorsed, and it looked to pay dividends for Jenson Button, who had once been the great big British hope of Formula One, but just never managed to deliver. After being surpassed by fellow Brit and current and defending champion Lewis Hamilton, Button sensed a new lease of motorsport life with an incredible start to the season.

Without a win in the last six races however, the pressure has slowly been mounting on the Championship leader, especially after the last round in Belgium where he was taken out of the race on the first lap after a lowly qualifying position. The Italian Grand Prix at Monza will need to see a refreshed Button out on the track in order to keep his Championship dreams alive. His best finish in Italy came in 1994 when he made it to the podium in third place with his BAR Honda.

Button is still favourite to win the Drivers Championship this year, and recent interviews has shown that he has felt pre-occupied with the pressure and excitement of the possibility of winning. He insists now that he has come to terms with it and is ready and focused again. One thing in Button’s favour is that his closest rivals are continuously taking points off each other because the competition is fierce this year between Barrichello, Mark Webber and last year’s Italian Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel.

Italian Grand Prix Winner Odds
Lewis Hamilton – 4/1 at Victor Chandler
Sebastian Vettel – 11/2 at Stan James
Kimmi Raikonnen – 13/2 at Expekt
Mark Webber – 10/1 at Bet365
Jenson Button – 12/1 at SportingBet

2009 Drivers Champsionship Winner
Jenson Button – 4/6 at BetFred
Sebastian Vettel – 5/1 at Boylesports
Rubens Barrichello – 6/1 at Coral
Mark Webber – 8/1 at SportingBet

Betting Tip: A great bet for the Championship would be young German driver Vettel, who is an exciting driver and has the car to back him up. However, Button has that lead already and, being in the dominant car, should mean he will still pick up enough points over the remaining five races to claim his first Formula One Drivers title.
As for the Italian Grand Prix, closely follow the Practice sessions and it should help narrow the field. Lewis Hamilton is considered to have found a little form recently with a win, a second place, and then an oops in the last race. Even though he is way back in the Championship race he still represents a good choice to back, and at 4/1 its not be sniffed at. Webber has been drifting a little, but for another man coming into great form, like Hamilton, and therefore one to watch out for, is Kimmi Raikonnen.