Drake loses £185k bet on Charles Leclerc at Spanish Grand Prix

Leclerc had appeared set for victory in Barcelona before encountering engine trouble

Drake claimed the bet on the Spanish Grand Prix was his first on Formula 1 (AFP via Getty Images)

Canadian rapper Drake was left particularly disappointed by Charles Leclerc’s retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix, revealing that he had bet £185,000 on the Ferrari driver to win the race in Barcelona.

Leclerc had established a dominant lead at the sixth race of the Formula 1 season and appeared likely to cruise to victory, but his engine failed six laps after his first pit stop and the Monegasque could not continue.

It allowed Max Verstappen to take top spot in the Drivers’ Championship standings with a third consecutive race victory.

Leclerc will now head to his home grand prix in Monaco next weekend trailing the defending champion by six points.

Drake claimed ahead of the race that he had placed a bet on F1 for the first time, placing a wager of CA$300,000 (£185,000) with a potential return of CA$750,000 (£467,000) if Leclerc claimed victory.

Ferrari’s reliability problems thus cost the 45-year-old a significant payout.

The Italian team will hope for better on the Monte Carlo streets with which Leclerc is very familiar, though the 24-year-old has curiously never managed to finish the Monaco Grand Prix.

He also had a recent crash in a 1974 Ferrari while driving at an exhibition in the citystate.