Formula 1 Japanese GP
Ecclestone emerges as only winner from Horner/Perez F1 bet
Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner has revealed how a canny Bernie Ecclestone emerged the only winner from a bet he had with Sergio Perez last weekend.
Jonathan Noble
Published: Apr 9, 2024, 2:46 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
With Perez returning to the Japanese Grand Prix for the first time since one of his most disappointing events of the 2023 campaign, Horner was especially intrigued about how well the Mexican would do.
So, with Perez’s previous best qualifying performance in Japan having been fourth place on the grid in 2022, he offered to pay out a hefty wager if his driver could get himself on the front row of the grid.
Perez duly did that, and in the end missed out on beating his team-mate Max Verstappen to pole position by just 0.066 seconds.
But, when Horner came to pay out, Perez confessed that he had covered himself with a separate arrangement with former F1 supremo Ecclestone – so the money had to go direct to him.
Speaking about what happened, Horner said: “I had a bet with him [Perez] to put it on the front row, because his best qualifying performance had been P4 here.
“But somehow, having won the bet, he told me that he owed Bernie Ecclestone exactly the same amount of money. So he's passed that on to Bernie, who was the beneficiary from Checo's front row.
“So dear old Bernie is still making money while not even being here.”
While the front row bet situation amused Horner, he actually was left full of praise for the attacking drive that Perez put in throughout the Japanese Grand Prix – which included some brave overtaking moves in 130R
Horner added: “Checo in particular has had a strong weekend, qualifying within one tenth of his team-mate here.
“His race pace was strong, and obviously he had the disadvantage of having to come back through the traffic.
“And there were a couple of moments where I must admit I had my eyes shut as he went into 130R. [I thought], ‘do you need to do it there? Can you not wait for the straight?’ He didn't look like he had three kids when he made that move.”
Perez’s strong start to the campaign has boosted his chances of securing a fresh contract to stay at Red Bull in 2025, with his current deal coming to end later this year.
Horner said that Perez just needed to keep doing what he was doing to help secure his place.
“I think his confidence is high,” added Horner. “He's very focused on the job in hand, and he's comfortable in the team. He knows he's out of contract for next year, so it's his seat to lose. He's very popular in the team and he has started the season in the best possible way.”
Read Also:
Formula 110 things we learned from the 2024 F1 Japanese Grand Prix
Formula 1How F1 red flag helped Verstappen nail his dominant Japanese GP win
Formula 1Red Bull won’t bow to pressure Audi is putting on F1 driver market
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Russell: Dirty air is causing F1 helmet turbulence problems
Next article Alonso: Suzuka F1 was 'inside my top five' best weekends ever
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Sergio Perez
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Cadillac’s F1 brakes are still a problem: ‘I had to lift and coast on lap two’
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
“Am I confident? Probably not” – The unprecedented challenge Singapore is throwing at F1 drivers
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lewis Hamilton: Younger F1 drivers are “more and more cautious” about racing in rain
More from
Red Bull Racing
Christian Horner takes cheeky swipe at Guenther Steiner: 'He never achieved an F1 podium'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Christian Horner takes cheeky swipe at Guenther Steiner: 'He never achieved an F1 podium'
Latest news
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Singapore GP
Franco Colapinto urges fans to stop the abuse: “You’re not helping me or my future”
Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
15 min
Gresini: New MotoGP rules won't increase gap between factory and satellite teams
Tristan McKee joins JR Motorsports in 2027 with future plans for full-time ride
NASCAR O'Reilly
NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly
Phoenix II
21 min
Tristan McKee joins JR Motorsports in 2027 with future plans for full-time ride
Colton Herta eyes potential Indy 500 return and IMSA enduros as 2027 plans remain in flux
FIA F2
F2 FIA F2 33 min
Colton Herta eyes potential Indy 500 return and IMSA enduros as 2027 plans remain in flux
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe