Marko reveals Verstappen REGRET after F1 prediction

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko found himself on the losing end of a €500 bet against his own driver, Max Verstappen.

The wager, made with Red Bull team principal Christian Horner ahead of qualifying, was made following complaints he’d made throughout the weekend.

Marko, confident that Verstappen would fail to secure a front row start, saw his prediction crumble as the world champion clinched another pole position in Abu Dhabi.

Despite the financial loss, Marko expressed satisfaction that his driver and the engineering team proved him wrong.

READ MORE: F1 Results Today: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix practice times - Hamilton struggles as McLaren fly in FP3

In an interview with Motorsport.com, Marko admitted, “I never believed that we could come back for qualifying the way that we did. We lost in FP3 half a second just in sector three, so it was some sort of motivation also."

Reflecting on the bet, Marko acknowledged the exceptional work of the engineers and Verstappen's stellar performance.

He remarked, “I'm very happy that our engineers did a fantastic job to make the right adjustments, and also that Max in the end delivered. I should have known Max!”

Verstappen, amused by Marko's financial loss, emphasised, “First of all, I think Helmut learned his lesson: never bet against me.”

He highlighted the challenges they faced in finding the right setup for the car and commended the team's perseverance. "GP [Gianpiero Lambiase] stayed calm and definitely went through a lot of options. And then with my feedback, he came up with a very good set-up for qualifying,” Verstappen added.

When Marko was pressed on Verstappen's remark about not betting against him again, he concurred, stating, "Unfortunately, he's right."

READ MORE: FIA take action for F1 qualifying after Verstappen incident

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