With Red Bull already having sealed both championships, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko found a creative way to spice up the Abu Dhabi GP. The two men made a $547 bet regarding Max Verstappen’s performance in qualifying. But as it turns out, as per a report by Racingnews365, the Red Bull Mechanics are the ones who actually benefited from the bet.
Following a series of difficult practice sessions, Marko and Horner placed a bet about whether Verstappen would be able to put his car on the front row or not. Horner claimed that he would, while Marko claimed that the best that Verstappen would be able to do is get on the second row.
Horner on the radio to Max post qualifying:
Horner: “Well done mate. You have just won me €500 off Helmut which is like getting blood out of a stone.”
Max: “Helmut lost the bet? What world are we living in”pic.twitter.com/AyDCCNH55W
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) November 25, 2023
Verstappen managed to prove Marko wrong as he claimed the 32nd pole position of his career ahead of Charles Leclerc and Oscar Piastri. Horner congratulated him on the radio and thanked Verstappen for winning him the $547.
In an interview with Sky Germany following the qualifying session, as reported by Racingnews365, Helmut Marko revealed how the Red Bull Mechanics are the actual people who came out victorious from the bet. Marko said, “The money will go to the bar, for the mechanics, so they can have a nice evening on Sunday night.”
Helmut Marko said that the 500€ bet with Christian Horner was:
Horner – Max front row
Marko – Max second rowThe money will go to the bar that the mechanics are visiting, they will have a great evening tomorrow.#AbuDhabiGP
— tami. (@Vetteleclerc) November 25, 2023
Verstappen joked about it too at the post-qualifying press conference and warned Marko to never bet against him. However, the Dutchman did agree that it was truly some sort of a gamble since they were trying out a new setup for qualifying. But it seemed to work in their favor and the Dutchman will now start the race from the front.
Marko has been betting on Verstappen’s performances for quite a while
This is not the first time that Helmut Marko has made bets on Max Verstappen’s performances. The last time he made a bet, he won against Verstappen’s race engineer – Gianpiero Lambiase.
Marko and Lambiase had set a wager on Verstappen taking the lead into Turn 1 at the Mexico City GP. With the three-time world champion starting behind Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz from P3, Lambiase claimed that it would be too difficult for Verstappen to take the lead in the first corner.
Max Verstappen WINS the Mexico City Grand Prix to get his 16th win of the season and break the record for most race wins in a single season! pic.twitter.com/Y1NHpcpg07
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 29, 2023
However, Verstappen had a rapid start and put on a brilliant overtake to take the lead out of the first corner. As a result, Marko won the bet.
