Raikkonen to hog limelight at Brazil GP

While William Hill will be laughing all the way to the bank at the profit they've already made on those foolish enough to fall for their patriotic English football, rugby and Formula One treble this week, they are nonetheless looking to cover their liability in the event of Lewis Hamilton winning the Drivers' title on Sunday by offering 9/1 on Kimi Raikkonen. Hills were offering 10/1 about the Three Lions roaring in Russia, the English chariot swinging high against South Africa on Saturday and Hamilton winning the F1 championship at the Brazil GP and the bet was already dead at the first hurdle following the collapse of Steve McClaren's men in Moscow. Nonetheless all is not lost for the Little Englanders amongst us and, ahead of the rugby World Cup final, it is more likely that Hamilton, rather than Jonny Wilkinson, will be a World champion this weekend. The 23-year-old only needs to come first or second in Brazil for that to happen, regardless of where his F1 rivals finish, while he can come third, fourth or even not finish at all and still become the first ever rookie Formula One winner. There is no doubt that the pressure is on. At the time of writing Hamilton's fastest time after morning testing on Friday at the Brazil GP has him rated only fifth-fastest with Raikkonen, who could still himself win the title, the fastest man so far at Interlagos. However, this is the Englishman's first visit to the Sao Paolo track and, as he has demonstrated all season, he is a fast learner. Don't be surprised if he pulls off his usual party piece and nicks a place in the front row of the starting grid in his final lap in qualifying. Both Alonso (10/3 for the title) and Raikkonen could yet rain on Hamilton's parade if he slips up, or cracks under pressure. The F1 championship leader is not infallible, as we have seen already season - at Silverstone and in Beijing. Of the two Raikkonen is the most likely to cause an upset. Tipped up by this column when 18 points behind Hamilton in early July, the Flying Finn has soared back into the Formula One reckoning, and while that prospect remains unlikely, the 9/1 offered by Hills for him to won the drivers' title is sorely tempting. The Ferrari ace has a decent record at the Brazil GP, coming second on three occasions in the last four years, and is understandably favourite to take the chequered flag at 13/8 with SportingBet after besting Massa in first practice and winning two of his last three races. All that Hamilton needs to do is to remain within three places of Raikkonen and two of Alonso, but whether he does or not is anyone's guess. If the ice-cool Finn does edge ahead of Alonso and Hamilton suffers final day nerves at the Brazil GP then Felipe Massa will doubtless help out his team-mate. Value hunters might as well chance a tiny wager on Raikkonen to steal Hamilton's crown. Verdict: 2pts Raikkonen @ 13/8 (SportingBet); 1pt Raikkonen to win the Drivers' Title @ 9/1 (William Hill)