Verstappen title win would be bookmaker's nightmare

ABU DHABI, Dec 5 : Max Verstappen winning a fifth Formula One title in Abu Dhabi on Sunday could be a nightmare for at least one British bookmaker who offered punters odds of 80/1 in August.

Red Bull's Verstappen was 104 points behind then-leader Oscar Piastri at that point but has since overtaken the Australian by four points and is now chasing the McLaren driver's teammate Lando Norris in an astonishing comeback.

"No one anticipated Max Verstappen’s comeback," said William Hill spokesperson Lee Phelps in a press release. "We could be heading to the pit lane should he manage to claw back the 12-point deficit on Sunday, as he’s by far our worst result in the outright market."

The bookmaker said Britain's Norris remained 1/3 title favourite but most of the bets were now for his Dutch rival at 5/2, with the two championship frontrunners accounting for 74 per cent of all stakes. Piastri was priced at 12/1.

Ladbrokes offered 1/4 on Norris for the title with Verstappen 3/1 and Piastri also at 12/1.

All three title contenders have won seven times this season. Norris won in Abu Dhabi last year after four years of Verstappen success.