Need for speed! Paddy Power sticks up £1m for Lewis Hamilton vs. Sebastian Vettel charity boxing match

Here’s what you need to know

The helmets are off and the gloves could be on…

Yep, Paddy Power has just slapped a cool £1m down on the table for a Lewis Hamilton vs. Sebastian Vettel charity boxing match amid the fallout between the pair.

Things got heated yesterday during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, after Vettel accused Hamilton of “brake-testing” him ahead of a safety car restart on Lap 19, before ramming into the back of the Brit’s Mercedes.

And in the worst case of road rage since Ronnie Pickering’s famous outburst, the Ferrari man then pulled alongside the Brit for some more ramming action.

Post-race Hamilton told cameras, “If he wants to prove he is a man, we should do it out of the car, face-to-face”, prompting the bookmaker to stump up £1m for a charity fight to happen.

Vettel was handed three penalty points and a 10-second penalty for dangerous driving, but still finished one place ahead of his championship challenger in fourth, as Hamilton required an extra pit stop. 

A deadly serious Paddy Power, said:

“So after Vettel smashed his car up, Lewis Hamilton is threatening to smash the German’s face up – it’s like road rage on steroids so we had no choice but to offer the money for a charity boxing match.

According to the odds, Vettel is in the driving seat to win the fight, but I do think it’s really important to set some ground rules beforehand – boxing with them helmets on would be no fun at all.”