Helmut Marko’s bullish Verstappen bet as ‘role of hunter is more pleasant’

Helmut Marko is putting his money on only one man to win in Abu Dhabi, and given that many of his bets on Max Verstappen have gone his way, it is one to keep an eye on.

Verstappen will line up on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix grid second in the World Championship, 12 points down on Lando Norris and four ahead of Oscar Piastri.

Red Bull bets, but has Helmut Marko learned his lesson?

That in itself is a remarkable feat and a testament to Red Bull’s fortitude.

Three months ago in Zandvoort, Verstappen dropped 104 points behind McLaren’s championship leader but today, after a run of eight podiums that included five grand prix wins, he is only 12 off the pace.

He may not be the favourite when it comes to the numbers given all, used loosely, Norris has to do is finish inside the top three to win the title, but Verstappen, with his experience and current vein of form, is the outside favourite.

He’s definitely Marko’s favourite.

“There are always them, and this time too,” joked Marko to Kleine Zeitung as the Red Bull camp placed their intra-team bets on the 28-year-old to win the World title.

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Having once lost €500 to former Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Marko learned his lesson in 2023 with Verstappen rubbing it in after qualifying on pole in Abu Dhabi.

“Well, first of all, I think Helmut learned his lesson, never bet against me!” Verstappen said with a laugh after qualifying.

It was a lesson Marko took to heart, as ahead of this year’s Abu Dhabi finale, he is backing just one person to win it all.

“Let’s put it this way, I’m fully going for a win for Max, in every respect,” he said, the race and World title.

“The role of the hunter is more pleasant,” Marko continued.

“But McLaren has two drivers who can still win the title, we only Max. So it’s a difficult starting position for us.”

However, should Verstappen fall short of success and lose the World title to McLaren, Marko says that falls on Red Bull.

“Unfortunately, we have also blundered ourselves from time to time, for example with the setup in Hungary and the like. But it’s already an incredible season,” said the 82-year-old.

As remarkable as F1 2021 when Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the title on the final lap of the campaign?

That, Marko admits, had a different energy and rivalry.

“Back then, everything was much more tense. The atmosphere was more charged, almost explosive. There was the crash between the two at Silverstone before that, and that’s why it was much more intense.”

Read next: Why is everybody pretending not to care about Norris v Verstappen title fight?

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