Verstappen, Leclerc close in PointsBet 2022 Spanish odds

Max Verstappen’s win in the inaugural Miami race allowed him to close to within 19 points of Charles Leclerc and contributes to a narrow gap between the two odds favorites at PointsBet Sportsbook to win the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen had to survive unseasonably hot weather, an aggressive pass on Leclerc and a late-race restart to win. He has now won every race in which he has been running at the end. This week he is barely above even money with a line of +110. Verstappen has finished on the podium in hist last four Spanish Grand Prixs, but has not won there since 2016.

One way to view American Odds is to move the decimal point two positions to the left. That will let a bettor know what they will make on a $1 bet, so the return on investment this week for Verstappen is $1.10 for the race and also to win the pole this week. For bettors more comfortable with fractional odds, a bet of +300 is the same as 3/1.

For the second week, Leclerc is only 30 points behind Verstappen this week at+140. Leclerc won the two races not claimed by Verstappen and finished second in two other events, including the Miami Grand Prix. Leclerc finish fourth in last year’s edition of this race and was fifth in 2019. Leclerc is also listed at +110 alongside Verstappen to win the pole.

After getting off to a fast start of three consecutive podiums, Carlos Sainz Jr. crashed in back-to-back races in Melbourne and Imola. He made it to the checkers without damage last week and climbed back on the podium for the fourth time in six rounds. This week, his line is posted at +1100.

Sergio Perez is ranked fourth with a line of +1600. Perez finished fourth in Miami. This week, he is seeking his third consecutive Spanish Grand Prix top-five after finishing fifth in his last two starts.

Rounding out the top five in PointsBet’s ranking are Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at +2500.

Hamilton represents one of the most interesting picks this week. He won the last five races on the Catalunya circuit and has another victory in 2014. All of these came after a front row start, but 2022 has been disappointing for the Mercedes driver. If he qualifies anywhere near the front, however, his 25/1 odds will take on a different perspective. Hamilton is listed at +3300 to win the pole.

Russell beat Hamilton to the line by three seconds last week and finished fifth to keep a perfect record of 2022 top-fives alive.

For more betting coverage, check out NBC Sports Edge.

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Media and fan attention focused on a controversial run-in between Haiden Deegan and his Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing teammate Jordon Smith during Round 10 of the Monster Energy Supercross race at Detroit, after which the 250 East points’ Hunter Lawrence defends the young rider in the postrace news conference.

Deegan took the early lead in Heat 1 of the round, but the mood swiftly changed when he became embroiled in a spirited battle with teammate Smith.

On Lap 3, Smith caught Deegan with a fast pass through the whoops. Smith briefly held the lead heading into a bowl turn but Deegan had the inside line and threw a block pass. In the next few turns, the action heated up until Smith eventually ran into the back of Deegan’s Yamaha and crashed.

One of the highlights of the battle seemed to include a moment when Deegan waited on Smith in order to throw a second block pass, adding fuel to the controversy.

After his initial crash, Smith fell to seventh on the next lap. He would crash twice more during the event, ultimately finishing four laps off the pace in 20th.

The topic was inevitably part of the postrace news conference.

“It was good racing; it was fun,” Deegan said at about the 27-minute mark in the video above. “I just had some fun doing it.”

Smith had more trouble in the Last Chance Qualifier. He stalled his bike in heavy traffic, worked his way into a battle for fourth with the checkers in sight, but crashed a few yards shy of the finish line and was credited with seventh. Smith earned zero points and fell to sixth in the standings.

Lawrence defends Deegan — *Jordon Smith failed to make the Detroit Supercross Main and fell to sixth in the points. – Feld Motor Sports*

“I think he’s like fifth in points,” Deegan said. “He’s a little out of it. Beside that it was good, I don’t know. I wasn’t really paying attention.”

Deegan jokingly deflected an earlier question with the response that he wasn’t paying attention during the incident.

“He’s my teammate, but he’s a veteran, he’s been in this sport for a while,” Deegan said. “I was up there just battling. I want to win as much as everybody else. It doesn’t matter if it’s a heat race or a main; I just want to win. I was just trying to push that.”

As Deegan and Smith battled, Jeremy Martin took the lead. Deegan finished second in the heat and backed up his performance with a solid third-place showing in the main, which was his second podium finish in a short six-race career. Deegan’s first podium was earned at Daytona, just two rounds ago.

But as Deegan struggled to find something meaningful to say, unsurprisingly for a 17-year-old rider who was not scheduled to run the full 250 schedule this year, it was the championship leader Lawrence who came to his defense.

“I just want to point something out, which kind of amazes me,” Lawrence said during the conference. “So many of the people on social media, where everyone puts their expertise in, are saying the racing back in the ’80s, the early 90s, when me were men. They’re always talking about how gnarly it was and then anytime a block pass or something happens now, everyone cries about it.

“That’s just a little bit interesting. Pick one. You want the gnarly block passes from 10 years ago and then you get it, everyone makes a big song and dance about it.”

Pressed further, Lawrence defended not only the pass but the decision-making process that gets employed lap after lap in a Supercross race.

“It’s easy to point the finger,” Lawrence said. “We’re out there making decisions in a split millisecond. People have all month to pay their phone bill and they still can’t do that on time.

“We’re making decisions at such a fast reaction [time with] adrenaline. … I’m not just saying it for me or Haiden. I speak for all the guys. No one is perfect and we’re under a microscope out there. The media is really quick to point a finger when someone makes a mistake.”

The media is required to hold athletes accountable for their actions. They are also required to tell the complete story.

Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc closely ranked in PointsBet odds for 2022 Spanish Grand Prix

Hunter Lawrence defends Haiden Deegan after controversial block pass at Detroit

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