Christian Horner loses money to Bernie Ecclestone after Sergio Perez bet

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed that ex-F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone ended up the winner from a wager with Sergio Perez.

Horner made a bet with Perez ahead of qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix and lost, but it has now emerged that Ecclestone was the main beneficiary from the wager.

Perez delivered his best qualifying performance at Suzuka, narrowly missing out on pole position to Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen by just 0.066s.

After the session concluded, Horner was heard coming over the radio to tell Perez that the result had cost him “a few quid”.

Perez replied, laughing: “Now you see how to motivate me!”, with Horner responding: “Haha! Well, I’ve always known that!”

Horner has revealed that his money ultimately ended up going to 93-year-old Ecclestone.

“I had a bet with him [Perez] to put it on the front row, because his best qualifying performance had been P4 here,” Horner explained.

“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.”

Perez went on to finish second behind Verstappen as Red Bull secured their third 1-2 from the opening four races of 2024.

Having come into the season under pressure to keep his seat for 2025, Perez’s improved form has bolstered his chances of staying at Red Bull beyond the end of the year.

After the race in Japan, Perez - who trails Verstappen by 13 points in the drivers’ championship - said he believes he will have clarity over his future “in a month”.

On Perez’s future, Horner added: “I think his confidence is high. 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.”