In hindsight, it’s easy to say that everyone knew a young prodigy from childhood would go far, but few have a better way to prove it than this English bettor. A Briton watched in 1998 a 13-year-old sprinting in a go-kart. It impressed him so much that he made a wager: he would win a world championship before turning 25. That boy was Lewis Hamilton.
The Ladbrokes bookmaker never revealed the identity of who placed that bet, but they struck it rich. Placing only £100 on the table, about €125, he ended up collecting €208,000. The bets were two: that the boy would win a Formula 1 race before turning 23 and would win a world championship before 25.
The bettor won €208,000 by betting only £125
You have to have a keen eye to spot a Formula 1 driver in his childhood and uncover his talent, but that is precisely what an English bettor in 1998 did. His identity was never revealed, but it is said he was simply a karting enthusiast who suddenly saw something he had never seen before: a special driver. He was only 13 years old and wore a yellow helmet.
His name was Lewis Hamilton, although at the time that meant nothing. Startled, the admirer went to a Ladbrokes branch and placed two bold bets: that that 13-year-old boy, that very Lewis Hamilton, would win a Formula 1 race before turning 23. And he would become world champion before 25.
It’s worth noting that, at that time, the wager was exceptionally audacious. Excluding Indianapolis, in 1998 only one driver had won a Formula 1 race before the age of 23: Bruce McLaren in 1959. None had ever been champion before 25. But the bettor’s clinical eye did not miss.
Hamilton signed with the McLaren-Mercedes program in that same 1998, and there began an inexorable path toward Formula 1. In 2006 he won GP2, and in 2007 he was already in Formula 1. He achieved his first victory at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, at 22 years, 5 months and 3 days. Under 23 years old. The first €50,000 in his pocket.
What remained was the big prize. On November 2, 2008 in Interlagos, Brazil, after a dramatic finish overtaking Timo Glock at the final corner, Lewis Hamilton was crowned Formula 1 World Champion. He was 23 years, 9 months and 26 days old. The youngest champion in history. Under 25 years old. 158,000 euros more in the till.
The identity of the person who made the craziest bet in the history of motor racing has never been revealed, but one can only wish they enjoyed their money.
Images | Mercedes, Formula 1
