Never bet against Max Verstappen.
Even as his Red Bull tailed off in 2024 he was always intent on being world champion – but after title glory he’s proved he’s a charitable man.
Frustrated with how predictable he felt F1 had become prior to the start of the season, Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds surprised many by promising to donate $250,000 to charity should someone actually pip Verstappen to the title in 2024.
Despite his early dominance dwindling after the summer break, the Dutchman brilliantly navigated the remaining races, always keeping the odds in his favour to eventually tie-up the championship at November’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.
The ‘wager’ was brought up during a private video call to congratulate the newly-crowned champion following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last Sunday.
Dodds told talkSPORT: “I said to him it would be a shame if we didn’t do some good with the money that was ‘wagered’ at the start of the year. My offer to him was why don’t we split it and we’ll still make the donation but half will go to causes close to Formula E and the other half is his choice. Max is a lovely fellow and he was quick to give us a charity that he’d like to donate to.”
In response to the charitable proposal, Verstappen responded: “The charity closest to me is Wings For Life and I’m sure they’ll be very grateful; and to support any kind of motorsport and young talent is amazing, so I think it’s a great shout from you.
“Thank you very much Jeff, I wish you all the best of course, and I’ll be watching the (Formula E) championship during my time off!”
Wings For Life is Oracle Red Bull Racing’s partner charity, which aims to find a cure for spinal cord injury.
Dodds then committed the remaining $125,000 to establish a new fund supporting initiatives dedicated to providing greater opportunities for women in motorsport.
He told talkSPORT: “What started as a very tongue-in-cheek ‘bet’ at the start of the season has evolved into a serious commitment to support gender equity within our Championship, with the ultimate goal of seeing women competing full-time in Formula E.
“Congratulations to Max on his fourth consecutive World Driver’s Championship and we look forward to even more competitive racing next season.
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“Meanwhile, the new Formula E season is already well underway and we’re excited to showcase more thrilling races, lots of exciting overtaking and fantastic wheel-to-wheel action for our fans across the globe.”
The first initiative funded as part of the new $125,000 kitty will be a strategic research partnership with More Than Equal.
Both organisations have commissioned research to understand the barriers – systemic, technical and cultural – faced by women striving to race full-time at the highest level in Formula E.
Dodds explained how the partnership came together: “We believe quite strongly that motorsport is one of the only sports where men and women can compete equally. What we also believe is that women get a lot less opportunity to compete in motorsport than men. Our view is we need to give more opportunities to women to get into the seat of the actual car that operates in the world championship.
“More Than Equal are going to come back to us with some really firm recommendations on what we can be doing differently as a championship to give more women, more time in the car – remove some of those barriers and give ourselves the best chance of bringing top women drivers through to compete in the series. That’s what our half is going towards”
Formula E has already seen positive response to its all-women test session in November.
Newly-crowned F1 Academy champion Abbi Pulling topped a talented field of 18 who sampled the championship’s current Gen3 Evo car at Circuito del Jarama in Madrid.
The Formula E World Championship continues on January 11th in Mexico City.
Max Verstappen, meanwhile, is likely putting his feet up ahead of the 2025 F1 season and impending fatherhood.