GP Betting: Home-grown talent to bear fruit?

Championship leader Michael Schumacher is 6-5 to win the race outright and 8-11 to take pole on Saturday, according to British bookmaker Ladbrokes. However his compatriots could yield a better return for your money.

Out of the four Germans competing in the Grand Prix, Michael's younger brother Ralf looks to be the obvious choice to spend your money on. Following on from his win in Canada a fortnight ago, the William driver is 5-1 to take pole and 9-1 to win Sunday's race. And with that powerhouse BMW engine, who can say Ralf won't be in the battle for honours?

To back other German talent, you might have to look a bit further than bets on the pole battle and the outright winner. Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen has not had the best of luck at this fixture - despite taking pole in 1999 he's retired twice here in the past two years. While his Jordan-Honda will be a longshot for pole (66-1), he's 14-1 to finish on the podium and 7-4 to finish in the points - fitness permitting.

The last driver hoping to do well in front of a home crowd is Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. He finished on the podium in Brazil and is 20-1 to repeat that feat on Sunday. He is also one of the best value group bets on offer this weekend. If you think he'll finish ahead of Frentzen, BAR's Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis and his team mate Kimi Raikkonen, you'll get odds of 9-2.

Other bets you might want to look at is Mika Hakkinen at 5-1 to win the race - his luck is bound to change sometime - or if you think his McLaren team mate David Coulthard might claw back Schumacher's lead in the championship, the Scot is 11-4 to win.

Ladbrokes has a whole range of bets for the European Grand Prix, to find out more visit www.ladbrokes.co.uk



Michael Schumacher
David Coulthard
Ralf Schumacher
Mika Hakkinen
Juan Pablo Montoya
Rubens Barrichello
Jarno Trulli
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Jacques Villeneuve
Olivier Panis
N Heidfeld
Kimi Raikkonen
Eddie Irvine
Jos Verstappen
Giancarlo Fisichella
Jean Alesi
Pedro de la Rosa
Enrique Bernoldi
Luciano Burti
Jenson Button
Fernando Alonso
Tarso Marques



M Schumacher
D Coulthard
M Hakkinen
R Schumacher
JP Montoya
R Barrichello
J Trulli
HH Frentzen
J Villeneuve
Any other driver



J Trulli
HH Frentzen
J Villeneuve
O Panis
N Heidfeld
K Raikkonen
E Irvine
J Verstappen


J Trulli
HH Frentzen
J Villeneuve
N Heidfeld
O Panis
K Raikkonen
E Irvine
J Alesi 9-1


D Coulthard
R Schumacher
M Hakkinen
JP Montoya
R Barrichello


HH Frentzen
O Panis
J Villeneuve
K Raikkonen
Nick Heidfeld


E Irvine
J Alesi
J Verstappen
Giancarlo Fisichella
P de la Rosa