Marko's first lap 'bet' uncovered by cryptic Verstappen radio message

A cryptic message from Max Verstappen after qualifying in Australia has revealed a potential new battle between him and his race engineer.

The Dutchman took his third pole of the year in Melbourne in what has been a perfect start in qualifying in 2024, and he will be looking to carry that into the race and grab his 10th win in a row, which would equal his record set last season.

READ MORE: Verstappen failure causes unexpected win in 'F1 tweet of the year'

The result is possibly surprisingly considering that Red Bull looked to be struggling against the Ferraris in practice, as Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets in FP2 and FP3.

But the three-time champion found a lap when it mattered and took pole position for the race on Sunday, ahead of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, after the latter was promoted to third following a grid penalty for Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez.

Verstappen radio message reveals Red Bull bet

And it appears that Red Bull themselves may have been surprised by the 26-year-old’s performance, after a message over the radio suggested a fresh battle with Gianpiero Lambiase.

Lambiase - also known as GP and has been Verstappen’s race engineer since he joined Red Bull in 2016 – and the team’s chief advisor Helmut Marko have had a recent knack for placing bets on the Dutchman’s performance.

This was previously revealed by Marko at the Mexican Grand Prix last year, where the Austrian said that he had won a bet against GP: "Max actually did everything right, with his start being a masterpiece," he said at the time.

READ MORE: Red Bull boss lifts the lid on how 'frustrated' Verstappen responded to DNF

"I had a bet with Gianpiero Lambiase on who would lead after Turn 1. GP lost that bet. I don't bet with Max anymore, but with GP I do.

"It was the second time and I also won twice."

After taking pole in Melbourne, it seems a new bet on Verstappen is in motion and that another defeat is heading the way of Lambiase as the Dutchman appeared to tease his engineer over the radio: "GP, I know someone is going to be very happy now. I'm sorry.”

READ MORE: Verstappen explains BIZARRE cause of his Australian Grand Prix DNF

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