Bookies go for horses in Hockenheim

Williams' BMW engines are generally regarded as having the most horsepower in the business - and when the cars are expected to be at full throttle for 66 percent of the 4.241-mile Hockenheim circuit, Schumacher and Montoya could find themselves at the sharp end in the battle for honours.

According to bookmakers Ladbrokes, Schumacher is 4-1 to take pole on Saturday and 9-2 to finish top dog in his home race on Sunday. Team mate Montoya is 10-1 for pole and the same price to win the race - not bad odds if the weather stays dry and the team has sorted the engine fault that led to Schumacher's retirement at Silverstone a fortnight ago.

But Michael Schumacher is again the red hot favourite, with the Ferrari star 11-10 to equal Alain Prost's record of 51 Grand Prix wins.

British GP winner Mika Hakkinen has had his odds shortened following his win at Silverstone; the two-time world champ is 4-1 to win the race - the same odds as his McLaren team mate David Coulthard.

Other bets to look at could be the fight to finish in the points. If any of the top six from Ferrari, McLaren and Williams fail to make it to the end, who will be ready to benefit from their misfortune? Jordan's Jarno Trulli is the bookies favourite for best of the rest - the Italian is 10-1 to finish on the podium and 5-4 to finish in the top six.

Following Heinz-Harald Frentzen's sudden exit from Jordan, Trulli's newly promoted team mate Ricardo Zonta finds himself 20-1 to score his highest ever finish if he gets on the podium on Sunday. But further down the pecking order, Jean Alesi might be a driver to watch. The Frenchman grabbed a point at the fast and gruelling Montreal circuit last month and if the German GP proves to be a similar war of attrition, Alesi is 16-1 to pick up championship points.

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




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


Pole position
M Schumacher
R Schumacher
D Coulthard
M Hakkinen
JP Montoya
R Barrichello
J Trulli
Any other driver

Podium finish
M Schumacher
D Coulthard
M Hakkinen
R Schumacher
JP Montoya
R Barrichello
J Trulli
R Zonta
N Heidfeld
K Raikkonen
E Irvine

Points finish
J Trulli
R Zonta
N Heidfeld
K Raikkonen
E Irvine
O Panis
J Villeneuve
P de la Rosa
J Verstappen
J Alesi