What do racing sports betting darling Lewis Hamilton and the capital and the second most populous city of the United Arab Emirates have in common? Well, Ham is a British subject, and as such, a spot of tea is, presumably, among his favorite things, and Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. And speaking of favorites, the 2017 Formula 1 Champion is the odds-on fave to win the final car racing betting event of the season.
- Date: 26 November 2017
- Official name: 2017 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
- Location: Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
- Course: Permanent racing facility
- Course length: 5.554 km (3.451 mi)
- Distance: 55 laps, 305.470 km (189.810 mi)
Lewis Hamilton (-110)
The Brit finished 9th in the Mexican Grand Prix, which was only the second time this season he finished outside the top 10, but was still enough to clinch his fourth championship (and third in the last four years) with two races to go, one of which was the Brazilian Grand Prix, in which he placed 4th. Ham has finished without the top 5 only once in his career, winning the 2011, 2014, and 2016 editions, and coming in 2nd in 2010 and 2015.
Sebastien Vettel +225
Vettel’s racing sports betting odds at Yas Marina Circuit may not be as good as Hamilton’s, who’s out of reach regardless, but he can still secure an honorable 2nd overall place by finishing at least 8th in Abu Dhabi. The German is coming in hot with a runner-up finish in the United States Grand Prix, a 4th place in Mexico, and a win in Brazil. Vettel is a two-time winner, and back-to-back at that, of the Abu Dhabi GP, in 2009 and 2010, the latter year in which he also won Brazil, so this could be the second time he wins the last two races of the season after retiring from an Asian event (Korea in 2010, Japan this year).
Title deciders, drama under the lights and a spectacular setting 🎬
Get to know #AbuDhabiGP stats and facts ahead of this weekend's #F1Finale 🇦🇪
VIDEO >> https://t.co/2H2tJzjn7W pic.twitter.com/MjrVLxAw4b
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 21, 2017
Valtteri Bottas (+600)
Bottas could mathematically still knock Vettel out of the 2nd place in the World Drivers’ Championship standings, but in addition to him winning in Abu Dhabi, the German would have to finish at least 9th. The Finn has 13 straight top 5 finished, and is coming straight runner-up finishes in Mexico and Brazil. Bottas placed 3rd in Yas Marina in 2014 but came in 13th place in 2015 and had to retire from the race last year. In any case, the Finnish driver will have, even at 3rd place, his best finish ever in F1.
Max Verstappen (+1000)
The German has not only finished five straight races, his longest stretch this season without having to retire from a race, but he has also trying to make up for lost time, winning in Malaysia and Mexico, finishing 2nd in Japan, 4th in Austin, and 5th in Brazil – not bad but still not good enough, as we can tell from his racing sports betting odds. Verstappen has had just two starts in Abu Dhabi, finishing 16th in 2015 and 4th in 2016.