As the sport defends itself today from accusations that any element of surprise and equality has now been wiped out, William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe insisted punters should get wise to the politics of Formula One before having a flutter.

He told PA Sport: ‘‘Anybody betting on Formula One who tells me he wasn’t aware of team instructions in the sport simply shouldn’t be betting on Formula One.

‘‘There have been a number of occasions where Rubens Barrichello has deliberately maintained a position to hold up any opposition to Michael Schumacher.

‘‘In Formula One the second string is there to ensure the best possible place for the first string. If that means sitting in front of David Coulthard or whoever for 25 laps then that is entirely legitimate.

‘‘I’m actually experiencing a sense of deja vu with the whole thing, we’ve seen it time and again.

‘‘A radio presenter asked me on Saturday after the qualifying what I thought of the odds on Barrichello and I said I wouldn’t touch him with a bargepole, because if Michael Schumacher is still on the track Barrichello won’t be allowed to win.

The result was a bad one from William Hill’s perspective, with more punters taking the safe bet of Schumacher than risking their money on the Brazilian.

Sharpe added jokingly: ‘‘I would be delighted if all the punters who won did the right thing and gave their money back to the bookmakers.’’

He doubted that yesterday’s race would put people off betting in future, but expected it would become almost impossible now to bet against Schumacher in any race.

‘‘Some people need to wise up to Formula One a bit, that’s all. Where else would someone who is number one on the grid not be favourite to win the race?

‘‘Punters must take that into account, and if they didn’t know it already then they know it now.’’