Triple world champion Verstappen grabbed the final pole position of the year at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Gran🎉d Prix with a convincing performance in qualifying. 

It followed a difficult final practice in which Verstappen was off the pace after compla🧸ining about the balance and handlinꦐg of his Red Bull. 

But set-up changes between the two sessions proved key as Verstappen went on to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to his 12th pole of a domin🍷ant 2023 campaign. 

Following the chequered flag, an amusing team radio exchange between the Dutchman and team principal Horner on the Red Bull pit wall took place, reveali﷽ng a bet had taken place.&nb🙈sp;

Marko placed a €500 wager with H🦂orner that Verstappen would not make the front row after his FP3 struggles. 

“Well done mate. You’ve just won me €500🌳 euros from Helmut [Marko], which is like getting blood out of a stone𓃲,” Horner said.

Verstappen replied: “Heꦑlmut lost a bet? What world are we living in?

Horner ✤went on to explain: “The bet was f💃or you to be on the front row.”

To which, Verstappen responded: “Ha ha, nice.”

Speaking in the post-qualifying press conference, Verstappen joked: “I think Helmut 🐭leaꦉrned his lesson - never bet against me! 

“Of course it was a bit of a gamb🐼le because you don't know. We try a lot💟 of things on the car, which didn't really seem to solve the problem. 

“But yeah, I think GP stayed calm and he definitely went through a lot of options. And then with my feedback, he came up with a with a very good set-up for qualifyiﷺ💯ng. 

“So very, very happy with that. But of course it's always a bit of a gamble. You’re never 100% sure and missing𝕴 FP1, probably 🍒would have still been tough to get it right for FP2 and FP3.”