Weekend Review: Hamilton home heartache spares bookies’ blushes

Carlos Sainz become the second ever Spaniard to win a Grand Prix in F1 history after emerging victorious in a tumultuous race in the British GP at Silverstone.

The race was delayed by an hour after a horror crash involving Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu at the first corner, as he was sent flipping after George Russell and Pierre Gasly touched, spinning Russell into Zhou.

Russell abated his chances of a points finish in his home Grand Prix, rushing from his car to check on his fellow driver following his crash.

The race finished with as much drama as it started, with a safety car deployed towards the end, leaving nine laps of fierce racing.

Proud 💙🙏 @GeorgeRussell63 pic.twitter.com/5Lxdm0z2Ef

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 4, 2022

A questionable call from Ferrari to leave race leader Charles Leclerc on hard tyres and replenish teammate Sainz with soft eventually saw Leclerc slip out of the podium places to finish fourth.

Lewis Hamilton was in the battle for victory but eventually finished third behind Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, with championship leader Max Verstappen finishing in seventh.

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “Carlos Sainz had opened at 12/1, went off at 9/2 and hit 40/1 during the race before winning at his 150th attempt.

“A second successive podium for Lewis Hamilton and we’re so glad he didn’t take the chequered flag at Silverstone because his backers were out in force. It’s been a slow start to the season for him and at 25/1 an 8th championship may be beyond him.

“Lewis went off at 12/1 and touched 8/15 in-play when it looked like he was about to produce another fairy tale, but thankfully for us it wasn’t to be,” he added.

Elsewhere, in horseracing, French Derby winner Vadeni secured victory in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown after edging out Mishriff and Native Trail.

The Jean-Claude Rouget-trained runner managed to win out after romping from last to first in the final quarter mile after Alenquer had set a steady pace initially.

However, interests were piqued by Mishriff’s performance, with Betfred’s Alan Firkins looking forward to York’s Ebor Festival in August as a potential meeting to go down in history.

Vadeni is very special! 🤩🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/qrbJMVwZ8n

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 2, 2022

Firkins said: “A dazzling Eclipse Stakes at Sandown went the way of French raider Vadeni, but eyes were drawn to second-placed Mishriff, returning to something like his brilliant best, and perhaps a shade unlucky to be beaten just a neck after meeting interference.

“The Gosden globetrotter now looks set for York’s Juddmonte, at the Ebor Festival in August, where he’ll likely meet the likes of Baaeed, Desert Crown, Inspiral, State of Rest and perhaps his Sandown conqueror once again, too.

“We’ve got Mishriff at 3/1 for the Knavesmire spectacular, with Baaeed fav at 11/8, and Derby hero Crown also at 3/1. Race of the season in prospect for me, no question,” he added.

At Wimbledon, number one seed Novak Djokovic eased in the quarter-finals after seeing off Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven, despite a second set scare for the Serb.

Rafa Nadal secured his passage to the last eight after breezing past Italian Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets, while maverick Australian Nick Kyrgios came through a fiery match against Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-1.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill said: “At Wimbledon, the late night match on Sunday topped the turnover charts with Djokovic seeing off Tim van Rijthoven in four sets.

“The young Dutch player taking a set went against the punters’ narrative, meaning we managed to take a solid margin out of that one. However, Kyrgios and Nadal were two winners which left us well behind and the punters’ pockets lined.”

Unscripted. Unfiltered. Unmissable.#Wimbledon | @NickKyrgios pic.twitter.com/tK5GHTWbgX

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2022

Finally, England fell to defeat against Australia 30-28 in the first match in the test series, despite two late tries for Eddie Jones’ side making it a nervy finish.

Elsewhere, Wales slipped to defeat against South Africa as a late flurry from the Springboks in Pretoria secured a 32-29 win.

Matchbook’s Aidan O’Sullivan said: “Eddie Jones’ England side were well backed at the off, almost touching favouritism. Even against a Wallaby side down to 14 men for much of the game meant Red Rose backers were left short-changed once again.

“Spare a thought for the punters who backed Wales’ pregame at 20.0 as a 15-point first-half lead ultimately dwindled away as a rusty Springboks finally got their act together in the closing minutes in Pretoria,” he added.