How Max Verstappen avoided paying massive bill at the F1 driver dinner

Max Verstappen

How Max Verstappen avoided paying massive bill at the F1 driver dinner

Max Verstappen dished the details

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Tuesday 23 December 2025 21:52

Max Verstappen revealed how he got away with not paying the bill at the end of year F1 drivers' dinner in Abu Dhabi - and yes, it involved a G&T.

Ahead of the season concluding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, all 20 drivers on the F1 grid attend a drivers' dinner with the tradition starting in 2022 to pay homage to Sebastian Vettel on his retirement.

While the aim is to get all 20 drivers to attend, at the 2025 dinner the likes of Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll and Nico Hulkenberg were missing from the group photo, but the table was well represented by champions such as Lewis Hamilton and Verstappen.

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During an episode of the Talking Bull podcast, Red Bull's official podcast, Verstappen delved into the 2025 drivers' dinner and was asked by the interviewer who paid the bill at the end.

Verstappen's top tip for avoiding the bill

Verstappen responded: "Well, last year was very nice of Valtteri [Bottas] he took the bill."

Bottas competed in, what he and the world believed, to be his last season of F1 in 2024, but has since staged a stunning return to the sport via Cadillac for 2026.

Verstappen continued: "The drivers are joking a little bit, 'this year it's Max's turn' and I'm like 'yeah sure'.

"But I was sitting on the opposite side of the entrance of the private room, so for most of the night you're having a laugh, and suddenly people are wanting to go and then we realised that Pierre [Gasly] had already paid the dinner!"

The interviewer then sarcastically said: "I see...the bill came and you went to the toilet."

Verstappen then pleaded the fifth of Gordon's constitution, and argued: "No I was drinking my gin and tonic! On the other side."

"I guess, next time before I enter, I have to tell them, that at the end of the night, the bill is for me so then I can actually finally pay it!"

"I'm normally kind of generous with these kind of things, I just didn't get to pay yet. I'm sure that we have another dinner next year."

F1 Red Bull Max Verstappen