Last Updated on November 26 2023, 9:05 am

Red Bull Racing’s top advisor Helmut Marko has vowed never to underestimate Max Verstappen again after a €500 bet went wrong at the season-closing Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The wager, made with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, centred on Verstappen’s qualifying position amid the driver’s earlier challenges.

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Prediction gone wrong

Marko had predicted that Verstappen would secure a place on the second row of the grid for the race. To his surprise, the reigning world champion ended up on pole, prompting Marko to call in the bet to Horner. Despite the financial loss, Marko was delighted to have been proved wrong, attributing the turnaround to his team’s technical acumen and Verstappen’s flawless performance.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Marko revealed: “I was convinced we wouldn’t recover from our FP3 setback, where we lost half a second in just one sector. It also seemed like an inspirational push.

“Christian was optimistic about the front row, but I was leaning towards the second row. Ultimately, I’m delighted that our engineers did a great job with the set-up and Max, as always, exceeded expectations.

“I should have trusted Max’s ability.”

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Verstappen ‘swipe’ at Marko

Verstappen himself took a humorous swipe at Marko, suggesting the Red Bull advisor should have more faith in his racing abilities.

He reflected on the uncertainty leading up to qualifying, noting that the car’s problems persisted despite various adjustments. However, he praised his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, for remaining calm and working with him to find the optimum set-up for qualifying.

“First of all, I think Helmut learned his lesson: never bet against me,” he said.

“Of course it’s always a bit of a gamble because you don’t know… We already tried a lot of things on the car which didn’t really seem to solve the problem.

“But I think GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] stayed calm and he definitely went through a lot of options. And then with my feedback, he came up with a very good set-up for qualifying.”

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Marko comments on ‘swipe’

Asked about Verstappen’s playful rebuke, Marko admitted: “Unfortunately, he’s right!”

Marko also suggested that the drop in temperature during the final stages of qualifying played to Red Bull’s advantage, helping the car to achieve the necessary balance of grip without sacrificing speed – an essential factor given the importance of overtaking on the track.

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Marko said: “To lose half a second in one sector, with no grip, understeer, oversteer.

“Obviously the temperatures helped, but the main thing was that he did right the adjustments without losing top speed because not everybody was convinced that we will be in the front. And overtaking is very important, so you need the top speed.”

This incident highlights the unpredictable nature of Formula One and the dangers of betting against a driver of Verstappen’s calibre, a lesson Marko has learned at a cost but with a gracious spirit.

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