Wilson extends share scheme closing date

Jonathan Palmer, the managing director of the company, said: "We are all absolutely thrilled with both the rate and amount of applications for shares. We had no idea just how big the appetite would be to buy a slice of Justin Wilson. With applications for tens of thousands of shares still coming in daily there is no way we are going to deprive people of the opportunity to buy some of the remaining shares."

Wilson reckons that the high level of investment in him is not an added pressure, and has said that instead he is relishing the challenge. "I regard it as a terrific incentive, rather than a weight on my shoulders, to be carrying the hopes of investors," he told the Daily Mail. "Naturally, I want them to profit for showing their faith, but I suspect that was not the main reason for making an investment in the first place.

"I believe the public loves to see a young bloke like me, without riches of big-money backers, challenge the system and that's why they have responded so generously."