Lewis Hamilton wins Formula One Singapore Grand Prix 2014: What are the odds on a drivers championship victory?
After Lewis Hamilton battled his way to victory in the Singapore Grand Prix, what are the odds on his winning the Formula One Crown?
The Briton won his seventh race of the season and, with five races left, has ground out a three point lead over his closest rival and teammate, Nico Rosberg.
There are a maximum 125 points on offer and, with a seven point gap between the 25 points awarded to the winner and the 18 for second place, even a Mercedes one-two with Rosberg coming in first could reverse the standings.
The bookies however don't see things as being that close. With a little bit of maths it is possible to work out implied percentage probabilities from bookies' odds and they are revealing. It is worth noting however that the sample size for each is not the same, and so the figures should be taken with a pinch of salt. Not all bookies offered odds on all five drivers.
Despite the race appearing to be down to the wire, the bookies clearly see Hamilton as the man with the momentum, and, despite crashes and retirements he has the most impressive record. Only Rosberg is given a realistic chance of beating him. Here is a gif showing how the points were racked up:
Finally, here are the odds we used for the calculation. They were correct at about 5pm on Sunday 21st September.