Although many argue that Schumacher could indeed return to his winning ways inside the championship that he left at the end of 2006, the majority of the betting companies are not so convinced the German ace could upset the odds next year.
The companies which least believes Schumacher will make it to his 8th overall title in Formula One are Austrian bookmaker Bwin, as well as Victor Chandler, who went 13/2 for the German after Christmas. Major UK bookie William Hill changed the odds in recent days, going from 8/1 to 6/1, while Ladbrokes offers Schu a 5/1 chance to regaining the championship crown.
In addition to that, “Blue Square are offering 4/7 for Schumacher's ninety-second career race win, in from an initial 6/4,” as reported by the GMM news agency.
Needless to say, the major betting companies in the UK are backing British ace Lewis Hamilton for the 2010 title, with William Hill (12/5) and Landbrokes (5/2) seeing the McLaren driver favorite to Ferrari's Fernando Alonso (7/2 at William Hill and 3/1 at Landbrokes).
As far as the other title contenders go, William Hill sees Sebastian Vettel the 4th favorite for the 2010 crown, with 6/1 in odds, while followed by the 2009 F1 champion Jenson Button (13/2). Schumacher's teammate at Mercedes GP is regarded as the 7th favorite (12/1). behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa (9/1).
Things are not so different at Landbrokes either, as “Button is the fifth favorite at 6/1, and Schumacher's Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg seventh at 10/1.”
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