Formula E boss bets $250,000 on Verstappen taking F1 title again

Formula E boss Jeff Dodds has promised to pay $250,000 to charity if Red Bull’s Max Verstappen fails to win a fourth successive Formula One title this season.

Red Bull won 21 of 22 races last year in the most dominant of campaigns while 26-year-old Dutch driver Verstappen took a record 19 victories.

Red Bull has also won 38 of the last 44 races.

“Unless he’s injured or something crazy happens, 99% he (Verstappen) gets that trophy,” Dodds said in an interview with  TNT Sports.

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“If any one of the other 19 drivers wins it (the F1 championship), we’ll give a quarter of a million dollars to the charity of choice of the other driver that wins it.

“It wouldn’t be the worst day in the office to give a load of money to charity. But absolutely, he is nailed on to win that season.”

All-electric Formula E has proven less predictable than F1, with three different winners in three races so far in the 10th season that started in January, but attracts a far smaller audience.

France’s double champion Jean-Eric Vergne is the only driver to win more than one Formula E title since the city-based series started in 2014-15.

“If (McLaren’s) Lando (Norris) wins, we’ll go and visit him and give him a quarter of a million dollars for his charity. Absolutely, no questions asked,” said Dodds, who took the helm of the electric series last June.

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Verstappen set the pace on the first day of Formula One testing on Wednesday, with the season starting there on March 2.

Dodds said Formula E was on a rapid development curve and getting faster and faster.

“You’re going to see acceleration in these (future) Formula E cars that leaves every other motorsport pretty much for dust,” he said.