Betting Week in Review 13/12/2021 – Verstappen Takes Controversial Title
Max Verstappen has won the Formula 1 title in controversial circumstances in the last race of the season. The Red Bull driver overtook Lewis Hamilton on the last lap to claim his first title after the safety car’s deployment, although Mercedes plan to appeal the decision. In football, penalties ensured the top three won.
Formula 1 Features in Our Betting Week In Review © Pixabay.
A Dramatic End to Season Sees Max Take F1 Title
Going into the Abu Dhabi GP, the last race of a thrilling season, it couldn’t have been any closer between the young pretender Max Verstappen and seven-time title winner Lewis Hamilton. Both drivers were tied on 369.5 points, meaning whoever finished higher took the title.
Pre-race, the bookies had the more experienced Hamilton as the favourite. The 36-year-old was available at 1/1 (2.0) to win the race outright. Verstappen was the second favourite, priced slightly higher 11/10 (2.1) due to the 24-year-old taking pole with a time of 1:22.109, a gap of 0.371 over Hamilton.
There was then a big gap to other contenders; Valtteri Bottas (20/1), Sergio Pérez (20/1), Lando Norris (25/1) and Carlos Sainz (50/1) with the rest of the drivers 80/1 and above.
The race almost predictably got off to a dramatic start. Hamilton took mere seconds to wipe out Verstappen advantage and overtook his rival at the start. There was almost a coming together between the drivers at Turn Seven on lap one, but as the race wore on, a record eighth drivers’ crown for Hamilton looked the likeliest outcome, and six laps to go, the Brit had a commanding 12-second lead.
It was a crash for Williams’ Nicholas Latifi that would be the source for a contentious end to the race with five laps left to race. The 25-year-old only made his Formula 1 debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix, and it was his heavy impact into the crash barrier that saw the safety car deployed.
The Red Bull team took advantage and pitted its driver for new soft tyres while Hamilton stayed on his old tyres and kept his track position in the lead. When Verstappen rejoined the race, there were five lapped cars between himself and Hamilton.
Race control stated that lapped cars could not overtake, but this order was changed midway through the penultimate lap but only applied to the cars between Verstappen and Hamilton. This order created a situation for Hamilton and Verstappen to be clear first and second when the race was restarted on the final lap.
The Red Bull driver was more than a match for Hamilton on new tyres and overtook the Brit down the inside at Turn Five. Once in the lead, he held off the Mercedes car and became the second champion for Red Bull after Sebastian Vettel took the crown in 2013, the last non-Mercedes driver to do so.
Mercedes lodged two complaints about the race, and stewards dismissed both after a delay of three hours. They now have 96 hours to lodge an official appeal, a timeframe that takes them right up to the FIA Awards Ceremony on Thursday night when Verstappen is due to be crowned champion.
Premier League – Top Three Win From the Spot
The biggest talking points from this weekend revolved around penalties in the football action, with the top three clubs in the Premier League table needing penalties to get wins.
In Chelsea’s 3-2 win against Leeds, the visitors made the better start and nearly took the lead early on from a great freekick taken by Raphina but saved by Mendy in the Chelsea goal. However, it would only prove to be a temporary reprieve as Raphina scored after Leeds were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute, and although Mendy went close, he couldn’t keep it out.
Thanks to a Chelsea equaliser scored by Mason Mount three minutes before the break, the teams went into the interval level. The 22-year-old is in fine form, scoring six goals in nine starts and has made four assists in those games, picking up the man-of-the-match award in three games.
Chelsea went ahead in the 58th minute. Jorginho is lethal from the spot and converted after a foul was awarded against Raphina. The referee initially didn’t award it, but VAR saw the infringement.
With seven minutes left on the clock, Leeds took the scoreline to 2-2 when teenager Joe Gelhardt scored with his first touch. Remarkably the 19-year-old is the first teenager to score for Leeds in the Premier League in 17 years (the last one being James Milner).
Chelsea won the game at the death after being awarded the third penalty after Mateusz Klich brought down Rudiger, and Jorginho scored Chelsea’s third and his second in the 94th minute.
With Manchester City needing a penalty (a controversial one given for handball) to beat Wolves 1-0 and Liverpool also winning against Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa by the same scoreline thanks to a Mohamed Salah penalty in the 67th minute, the table remained the same.
Manchester City lead the table on 38 points, Liverpool is on 37 points, and Chelsea remains third with 36 points.
Manchester United also benefitted from a penalty, gaining a vital 1-0 win over the bottom-placed club, Norwich. In the late game on Saturday, a Christiano Ronaldo spot-kick after 75 minutes was the difference between the sides.
in other games; Brentford left it very late to claim the three points against Watford. Bryan Mbeumo scored in the 95th minute to secure a 2-1 win for the Bees.
Arsenal put themselves into the Europa League spots with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Southampton. Captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was dropped due to disciplinary reasons, but the Gunners didn’t need him with Alexandre Lacazette, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel scoring the goals.
West Ham was held 0-0 against Burnley, Leicester City added to Newcastle’s woes, beating the Magpies 4-0.
In the late game on Sunday, Everton could not build on their win against Arsenal last weekend and lost 3-1 against Crystal Palace. It’s a result that means the Toffees have now lost 50% of their games and are just seven points clear of the relegation zone.
