BBC Sports Personality of the Year Betting Guide – 2022 Update

Sir Lewis Hamilton has already won this prize twice in his career: in 2014 and in 2020. Last year, the driver could have easily ended up holding the Formula 1 Drivers Championship Trophy if not for a late decision by the race organisers in Abu Dhabi, which allowed rival Max Verstappen to clinch the title ahead of the Englishman in the final lap. That would have been his 8th Championship title, making him the undisputed Formula 1 champion. Currently, he sits tied first with legend Michael Schumacher, who also has seven championship titles to his name.

2022 could be the year Lewis Hamilton rises to the top of that table alone, but with the changes done to the Formula 1 cars this season, he might not even be the favourite to win the trophy, especially after Ferrari got a great start to the season. Should he manage to win the title and put England on top of the Formula 1 Driver charts, he would surely be the prime contender to win the BBC award.

Check out our F1 Betting Guide to see the odds on Hamilton winning the championship.

Following their recent performance in the European Championship, the English football team once again faces the prospect of winning an international trophy this year as the FIFA World Cup gets closer and closer. One of the main men in the squad is captain Harry Kane, who safely booked a place for England at the prestigious tournament with 12 goals in 10 games during the qualification round.

The goalscorer from Walthamstow is just 5 goals off topping the charts for goals scored for the England national team, and he will be hoping to do so while taking the Three Lions all the way to the final. His season with Tottenham so far has been fairly quiet when compared to other years, but once he gets into scoring mode, there is just no stopping him.

A great performance in Qatar at the World Cup finals could surely see Kane winning many votes for the SPOTY, with his odds of 14/1 at Paddy Power potentially shortening if he continues to deliver goals for team and country.

After enjoying immense success at the US Open, Emma Raducano stole the hearts of the English public and won last years SPOTY by a huge margin. Given her talent, we really would not be surprised if she stunned the tennis world with yet another huge win at some point throughout the year – perhaps at Wimbledon, where she will hopefully compete in front of a home crowd. The odds of her doing so are at 12/1 at bet365.

Raducanu did have a bit of a slow start to 2022 after being knocked out fairly easily by Rybakina in Sydney, after which she then failed to make it to the final stages of other competitions despite facing seemingly weaker opposition.

Last year, at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu was downright sensational. She surged through to the final without dropping a set, and then beat out Leylah Fernandez with ease to claim the crown. Raducanu etched her place in history by becoming the first qualifier to win the US Open, and the first British women to win a Grand Slam since Virginia Wade in 1977. Maybe she could win a back-to-back US Open title, who knows?

Raducanu is joint-second favourite with odds of 14/1 at Paddy Power. We suggest keeping an eye out on her matches, especially in the Grand Slam tournaments.

At the time of writing, the fact that George Russell now forms part of the Mercedes team with Lewis Hamilton likely leaves him in the former's shadow this season, as seems to be the case with any of the Mercedes teammates. We struggle to see how Russell could outshine his teammate on the track, and would not be inclined to place any bets on him at an early stage in the season. In spite of this, we have seen Russell's driving skills, and know that he is always up for some good competition, so we will be watching out for his performances just the same.

Elsewhere, Eve Muirhead, who is part of the Team GB Olympic team, became an Olympic curling champion during the Winter Olympics in Beijing early on during the year. This was no easy feat, however, given the timing and the fact the medal was won in a relatively minor sport, Muirhead might not by fancying her chances of winning the award. At the same time, she has already won the biggest award there is to win in the sport this year, while all the other contenders still have to prove themselves.

The BBC's Sports Personality of the Year was the brainchild of Paul Fox, a sports editor at the corporation. The first ever awards were held at the Savoy Hotel on 30 December that year and were hosted by Peter Dimmock.

The first winner was the middle and long-distance runner Christopher Chataway. Up until 2012, a panel of 30 sports journalists each submitted a list of 10 contenders, from which a final shortlist of 10 nominees was drawn up.

In 2011, following a final shortlist entirely composed of men being submitted, this method was criticised and later abandoned to make way for the existing vote method.

The awards ceremony has no fixed venue, although the BBC’s recent move to Manchester has seen it held at Dock10 Studios in Salford since 2020. The 2021 ceremony was screened on BBC One, marking the 68th edition of the awards.