PADDY POWER PAY OUT ON MAX VERSTAPPEN AND LEWIS HAMILTON TO WIN F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

And, we’ve shelled out on them both to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix too!

On the very off chance you made the horrendous decision to watch Burnley v West Ham, or begrudgingly got dragged to IKEA or just happened to be living under a rock this Sunday afternoon, you should know that the finale to the Formula 1 season was probably the most spectacularly exciting 17 minutes of the year – no word of a lie.

In the quickest nutshell we can conjure, Lewis Hamilton looked like he was going to boringly cruise to his eighth world title, breaking his tie with the great Michael Schumacher on the all-time list until the motor racing Gods shone down on young Max Verstappen and all Formula 1 fans watching around the world and said ‘we’re back, baby!’

With six laps to go, a crash happened involving Nicholas Latifi and a wall, meaning (and ignorantly eliminating lots of technical happenings and jargon) the race was to end with Max Verstappen on Lewis Hamilton’s wheel with one lap to go – with (also a very important technical point) Verstappen having fresh tyres. Race on!

A crazy sixty seconds ensued with Verstappen overtaking Hamilton on the bend to jump to first and win his first first-ever World Championship.

Naturally, the craziness caused mayhem and a mixture of emotions. Verstappen punters were jumping out of their socks in celebration and Hamilton punters were in pure shock/rage at the way it ended. But yea, it happened. Red Bull won and Mercedes lost.

The best part of all this is that we, Paddy Power, can just put our hands calmly on your shoulders, no matter who you back, and say ‘it’s ok, you have not lost.’

Because we have decided to pay out on BOTH drivers to win the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Not just that, but we are also paying out on both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton to win the World Drivers Championship.

We hate injustices so we’re just doing our bit.

We do suggest you take the time this evening to watch all the happenings if you did happen to miss it. Then chat to your mates about how Formula 1 is back. Because it is, baby.