When the two race in 2024, Lewis Hamilton will be attempting to halt Max Verstappen’s streak of three consecutive Drivers’ Championship titles.
Lewis Hamilton has been given an additional incentive in his effort to dethrone Max Verstappen as World Championship winner in 2024 after Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds placed a £250,000 bet with charity if any driver can defeat the Red Bull star in the rankings this season.
To win the Drivers’ Championship for the third time in a row, Verstappen broke numerous single-season records and won 19 of the 22 Grands Prix that could have been held.
Mercedes finished the year without a win for the first time in more than ten years, while Hamilton was only able to score one race victory. The venerable British driver is still chasing a record-breaking seventh World Championship, but that will only be feasible if Silver Arrows can manufacture equipment that can compete with Red Bull.
Before preseason testing in Bahrain, Dodds stated to TNT Sports host Jermaine Jenas, “99 percent of the time, he gets that trophy.” Let me tell you something: if he doesn’t win—there are 20 drivers in Formula One—we will donate a quarter of a million dollars to the charity of the other driver who wins. If he doesn’t win—there are 19 other drivers.
In response to more questions concerning the amount, Dodds said, “Yeah, why not? To be honest, giving a tonne of money to charity wouldn’t make for the worst day at work.
“Yet without a doubt, he is a lock to win that season, which is why, as a fan of both Formula E and Formula One, I know I’ll show up in Sao Paulo for the fourth round of the Formula E calendar. You work on the presentation team there, and I run Formula E, so we both have no idea who will win that race.” Correct?
“So that excites me a lot. As a fan of Formula One, I am aware that the season is about to begin, and while I will watch the excitement and all, I already know who will win. You cannot go to the off-season, work on the cars a little, win 19 of the 21 races in a season, and then return for the next event and not win it. I simply don’t see it.
