A loyal fan has forced a major bookmaker into its largest-ever single payout for a motor sport bet after staking £100 on Lewis Hamilton�s win when he was still a go-karting teenager.
A loyal fan has forced a major bookmaker into its largest-ever single payout for a motor sport bet after staking £100 on Lewis Hamilton's win when he was still a go-karting teenager.
The unnamed fan won £125,000 after gambling on the talent he spotted in a 13-year-old boy on the go-kart track.
The Ladbrokes customer, whose son used to race go-karts against Hamilton, placed the bets on May 13, 1998. The man, from Peterborough, has already pocketed £40,000 last season when he collected on a £200 wager at 200-1 that Hamilton would win his first F1 race before he turned 23.
He bet £100 at 500-1 with Ladbrokes that Hamilton would win the championship before his 25th birthday. He also bet £50 at odds of 1500-1 for both events occuring.
Another William Hill client staked £32,000 on Hamilton at 1/4 yesterday to win the title and collected £40,000.
The anonymous Peterborough man said: "I've known Lewis from his early days and it was easy to see he had an obvious driving ability, coupled with a fantastic attitude.
"I just had a hunch he would go on to bigger and better things and when Ladbrokes came back with an irresistible offer it was too good to pass up.
"I told Lewis's father Anthony and he was chuffed that he was not the only one to have confidence in Lewis.
"I'm obviously excited about the prospect of winning the money but I'm more excited about what it will mean to the Hamilton family and British motor racing."
Ladbrokes' spokesman Nick Weinberg said: "We had been sweating on this bet for a while. We survived last year but there was a feeling we had only put off the inevitable."
