F1 ready to spin Monaco roulette wheel

Fernando Alonso's special golden and casino-themed Monaco helmet features some very telling words -- 'Bet on red'. In the scarcely believable 2012 season so far, the Spaniard has managed to emerge from the first five races with the joint championship lead, despite some sections of the media still describing Ferrari's situation as a "crisis".

"Yes, we have a chance for the title but it's up to us," he said on Wednesday. "We still have to make the car faster. It's a strange season," Alonso acknowledged. "No one is significantly stronger than us, but no one is much worse either."

Alonso doesn't expect the roulette-spinning to continue forever, though. "I cannot imagine we will arrive in November with the same situation; a different winner in each race," he is quoted in Monaco by Italy's Autosprint. "Sooner or later, someone will make a difference. Who? You cannot know now, but you know that I always keep an eye on Hamilton. He can make a difference even without the best car."

Amazingly, Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel have gone from utter recent dominance to almost anonymity in 2012, although the German does co-lead the championship with Alonso. Even so, the turnaround is dramatic. "I've made mistakes," Vettel told Bild newspaper, "but I think I have understood what I've done wrong. It's just not always easy to understand why the car is not as fast."

He predicts an unpredictable outcome this weekend. "When it comes to a trend you would have to say a sixth winner in the sixth race from the sixth team," the reigning world champion grinned to German television Sky. Asked where he'd place a ten euro bet for Monaco, he answered: "I'd put it on Timo (Glock) for the top ten." (GMM)

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