Should racing drivers be allowed to bet on races?

prisonermonkeys

prisonermonkeys

Be Fearless
Premium
Messages
33,150
Peru
Hammerhead Garage
This morning, I found an interesting story online, courtest of F1 Fanatic: Timo Glock has placed a bet on Sebastian Vettel winning the World Championship this weekend in Singapore. I find this interesting, because it raises some serious questions about the integrity of the sport. Athletes and team personnel betting on the outcomes of sporting matches is a very serious issue, and a lot of sporting codes have moved to prevent it by introducing severe penalties - Essendon Bombers assistant coach Dean Wallis was recently suspended for fourteen matches for betting on matches. He was not even betting on the Bombers (but then, who would?). Now, Timo Glock isn't exactly threatening Vettel in points. He isn't even threatening the points-finishing positions at all, much less on a regular basis. It does seem like a harmless flutter. But what if Vitaly Petrov had bet on Vettel winning the championship in Abu Dhabi last season?

So, this raises the question: should drivers and team members - of any form of motorsport - be allowed to place bets on the outcome of the race?

In a strange twist of fate, one of Virgin's former sponsors, Full Tilt Poker, was recently shut down and subject to a federal lawsuit, alleging that the entire organisation was effectively one big Ponzi scheme. And it's not the first time a crooked online betting consortium sponsored a racing team; in 2009, the V8 Supercars saw "Team IntaRacing" join the grid, sponsored by IntaBet, another online betting agency. They collapsed shortly after IntaBet's founder, Daniel Tzvetkoff, disappeared (and he's currently believed to be in witness protection somewhere in America).
 
Well Mark could say Vettle will win X race even if he is comming first and vettle second and then mark could make a "mistake" and vettle will win.

Racing drivers placing bets on another may lead to race fixing and no one wants that espically the FIA.
 
It would have to be a very big bet in order for a driver to consider it to be worth the risk. And a bet that size would show up very quickly. When Flavio Briatore fixed the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, he didn't do it because he had placed a bet on Alonso. He did it because Renault was in decline, and they needed some success to keep sponsors interested.
 
So this isn't already illegal? I'm actually somewhat surprised about that.
 
No. There are currently no rules in place against it. Which surprised me; I thought they would have been introduced after the events of Singapore 2008 came to light.
 
Toronado
So this isn't already illegal? I'm actually somewhat surprised about that.
Click to expand...

Me too.

Though you could still argue that Glock could still attempt to fix the results so he wins on that bet. He could be quick to let Vettel though under blue flag, but hesitate for a few corners when Vettel's rivals come up behind him.
 
astrosdude91
He could be quick to let Vettel though under blue flag, but hesitate for a few corners when Vettel's rivals come up behind him.
Click to expand...
Winning in Singapore doesn't automatically guarantee Vettel the title. A lot of it will hinge on the performance of others. If Vettel wins, Alonso must finish on the podium to keep his championship alive, and Button and Webber have to finish second to keep theirs going. So Glock would have to interfere with Alonso, Button and Webber in such a way that they cannot score enough points (the podium would pretty much have to be Vettel-Hamilton-Button/Webber) in order to make his bet come good.

Back in the days of the Cold War, the British intelligence services had what they called the "Moscow Rules" - namely, that once is an accident, twice is a coincidence and three times means enemy action. So if Glock interferred with Alonso, it could just be an accident. If he interferred with Alonso and Webber, it's coincidence. But if he interferred with Alonso, Webber and Button ... well, I doubt the FIA would let it get that far.
 
I'd say it's fine if he's nowhere near top in points (i don't follow f1 points) and isn't intetionally wrecking people or blocking for vettel (as astrosdude91 said), but it creates a touchy situation if he accidentaly takes out someone in the top, and betting should be taken care of before racing becomes rigged more or less, so that should be taken care of by next year

...... But then again i am a nobody in the subject of f1
 
Last edited:
Back