Punter loses $70K betting on Lewis Hamilton to win Italian Formula One Grand Prix

An Aussie punter will be having a difficult morning after losing more than $70,000 on the Italian Formula One Grand Prix last night.

The TAB customer wagered $70,550 on Lewis Hamilton to continue his recent dominance at Monza after starting from pole.

With the Brit paying $1.25 to win the race, the punter shaped to win $17,637.50 if Hamilton took the chequered flag for the sixth time this season — with TAB’s Trent Langskaill revealing the bet was easily the biggest placed on any driver to win a Formula 1 race this year.

However, things certainly didn’t go as expected.

A safety car, red flag and a 10-second penalty to Hamilton saw the race turned on its head, with Frenchman Pierre Gasly eventually winning his first ever race.

His Alpha Tauri crossed the line ahead of McLaren’s Carlos Sainz and Racing Point’s Lance Stroll, rounding out a very different podium to the norm.

Oh, and Gasly’s odds before the race?

A rather hefty $201-to-one.