At the Formula 1 race in Japan, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and his driver Sergio Perez have a bet, but in the end Bernie Ecclestone wins
Bernie Ecclestone has always had the right instinct. This was also the case with a bet between Red Bull team boss Christian Horner and Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. The object of the bet: Perez’s position on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix of the 2024 Formula 1 season
“It was about whether he would make it onto the front row of the grid,” explains Horner. “Because until then, the best he had done at Suzuka was fourth on the grid.”
This time, however, Perez did better than ever in Suzuka qualifying: he finished second behind his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen and was even much closer than on many other occasions, just 0.066 seconds behind. For Perez, this meant winning the bet against Horner.
But: Perez did not pocket the bet himself, as Horner says: “When he won the bet, he told me that he owed Bernie Ecclestone exactly the same amount. That’s why he passed the money on directly to Bernie. So Bernie was the big beneficiary of ‘Checo’ [Perez] making it to the front row of the grid!”
Horner, best man to Ecclestone at his wedding to Fabiana Flosi in 2012, is full of admiration: “Good old Bernie is still making money, even though he’s no longer there.” However, Horner does not reveal how much money was involved in the bet
Bernie Ecclestone as Formula 1 boss and billionaire
Ecclestone had controlled Formula 1 from the 1970s and developed it into a global sport over several decades. This turned Formula 1 into a billion-dollar business and Ecclestone himself into a rich man.
However, following the takeover of Formula 1 by Liberty Media, Ecclestone was relieved of his duties in 2017. The now 93-year-old is now only a sporadic guest in the paddock
Money, however, remains a constant theme in the life of the long-serving Formula 1 boss: Ecclestone was convicted of tax fraud in England in 2023. However, his role in the bribery scandal surrounding the sale of Formula 1 shares is far better known: Ecclestone obtained the dismissal of the case against him in 2014 with a payment of around 75 million euros.
