Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

Max Verstappen picked up right where he left off last season, after grabbing the pole position ahead of the season opener in Bahrain. He finished two-tenths ahead of second-placed Charles Leclerc and apologized to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase over the team radio for some reason. It confused fans, but Helmut Marko’s latest revelation gives some idea.

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In an interview with Sky Germany after the race, Marko spoke about a bet he made with Lambiase. The Red Bull advisor put his money on Verstappen finishing on pole whereas Lambiase went against it. Fortunately for Marko, he won but Verstappen managed to get 50% of the profits the 80-year-old made.

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Marko revealed that Verstappen would make a little more than $27 (€25), which means that the total money Marko got from Lambiase was roughly $55 (€50). This is likely what caused Verstappen to erupt into laughter after the session, and jokingly apologize to Lambiase.

Internally, however, no one at Red Bull will be upset. There was a lot of chatter about whether Red Bull could continue dominating the grid this year too. While it is too early to determine that, the early signs are good.

Max Verstappen to continue dominating?

Lambiase, Verstappen, and Marko will be delighted with the Dutchman’s performance in Bahrain. He starts on the pole, ahead of Charles Leclerc, and is the favorite to win the Grand Prix. But is this pole position an ominous sign for the rest of the grid?

The entire F1 grid looked to be extremely close in qualifying, and they were except for Verstappen. The defending champion was two-tenths ahead of Leclerc, whereas everyone finishing P2 or below was within a few hundredths of each other.

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Red Bull’s race pace in Sakhir on Saturday will give a much better idea as to where they stand. Because at the end of the day, race day is where the points lie.

The Austrian team was miles ahead in terms of race pace in 2023, and if they are in 2024 too, the rest of the grid could be in for a torrid time. While Verstappen starts the Bahrain GP from pole, his teammate Sergio Perez will start from P5.