Max Verstappen has joked that Red Bull driver advisor Helmut Marko should never bet against him after securing pole for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Verstappen recovered from a difficult start to the weekend to secure top spot for Sunday’s race, which cost Marko €500 in a bet with team boss Christian Horner.

The pair wagered on whether the Dutchman could secure a place on the front row, with Marko losing out.

“I think Helmut learned his lesson; never bet against me,” Verstappen joked.

Prompting the bet was a less-than-ideal build-up which left Red Bull chasing set-up even into Qualifying.

Balance and ride issues blighted Verstappen throughout Free Practice 2 and Free Practice 3, having sat out the opening 60 minutes of running in favour of Jake Dennis.

During the abridged second practice session, twice interrupted by red flags, the three-time champ complained the car was ‘bouncing like a kangaroo’.

There were similar comments in final practice, topped by George Russell while Verstappen could do no better than sixth fastest, 0.7s away from the outright pace.

Expectations were, therefore, subdued heading into qualifying, even within the team.

“It’s always a bit of a gamble because you don’t know,” Verstappen admitted of the risk associated with the late set-up changes.

“I mean, we already tried a lot of things on the car which didn’t really seem to solve the problem.

“But yeah, I think GP [Giampiero Lambiase, engineer] stayed calm and he definitely went through a lot of options and then, with my feedback, he came up with a very good set-up for qualifying.

“But of course, it’s always a bit of a gamble. You’re never 100 percent sure.”

Verstappen ultimately claimed pole from Charles Leclerc by 0.14s, the Ferrari driver having had a similar turnaround after a subdued start to qualifying.

From pole, Sunday’s race affords Red Bull the opportunity to chalk up its 21st win of the season, and Verstappen his 19th.

However, he goes in with unanswered questions after banking next to no race simulations during the truncated practice sessions.

“I have no clue how the car will behave in the race, I’ve not really done any long running,” Verstappen admitted.

“I guess we’ll find out throughout the race but so far, most of the races, of course, we have been quite strong.

“Tomorrow, you know, just have to ease myself into it, I guess, a little bit.”