Following the ‘aggressive looking’ RB20’s launch on 15th February, Red Bull Racing looks pretty serious about continuing its Formula 1 superiority with yet another dominating F1 challenger. Even the F1 community, knowing what Max Verstappen can pull off with the RB20, appears to be bracing itself for another dominant season by Red Bull.
However, from F1’s electric side, the Formula E boss, Jeff Dodds, has gone to extreme lengths, by already hailing Max Verstappen as the 2024 F1 Driver’s Champion.
Jeff Dodds wagers $250k on Max Verstappen
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds dropped a spicy challenge yesterday, announcing a $250,000 donation if any Formula 1 driver besides Max Verstappen wins the 2024 F1 Championship.
During a media session with TNT Sports, Dodds made this bold prediction about Verstappen’s dominance ahead of next season’s start. In the interview, he was asked, “Next season. You think it’s in the bag [Verstappen again clinching the F1 Championship]? No matter what!”. To this, the Formula boss asserted his confidence on the Red Bull #1 by saying “99% he gets that trophy.”
Challenging the doubters, he said “I’ll tell you what, if he doesn’t win it. So, 20 drivers in Formula One. If he doesn’t win it. So, there’s 19 other drivers. If any one of the other 19 drivers wins it, we [Formula E] will give a quarter of a million dollars to the charity of choice of the other driver that wins it”.
The interviewer surprisingly reacted by saying, “A quarter of a million! That’s how convinced you are?”. Dodds added “Yeah, why not! Well, it wouldn’t be the worst day in the office to give a load of money to charity.”.
Again asserting his confidence on Verstappen, he quoted, “absolutely, he is nailed on to win this season, which is why for me, as a fan or fan of Formula E and Formula One. I know I am going to turn up to Sao Paulo [knowing Verstappen is going to win it]”.
Bringing Formula E and its unpredictability into the mix, he added, “I run Formula E. Neither of us have any idea who’s going to win that race. Right? So I’m quite excited by that”.
“I know as a Formula One fan. The season’s about to start. I absolutely already know who’s winning. You can’t win 19 out of 21 races in one season. Go in the off-season, do a bit of development on the cars, come back for the next one and not win it. I just can’t see it,” he again asserted.
It is still unclear whether Jeff Dodds really meant what he said, pulled off yet another marketing stint, or a bit of both.
Fans brutally troll Jeff Dodds
Following Jeff Dodds’ interview session, he quickly grabbed the headlines and certainly sparked conversation and debate amongst Formula 1 fans and pundits alike. The fans, in particular, took to social media to express their reactions, and flooded the comments section with ‘Jeff Dodds’ trolls.
Advising the Formula E man to concentrate on his own competition, one fan commented, “Focus on your sport, Baldie.”
Another fan, taking a dig at Formula E, commented: “If Formula E wasn’t a joke of a series, he wouldn’t have to use F1 to get attention to it. It would just be good. Rental karts”.
Comparing Formula E with Formula 1, another user commented, “99% we know the winner and we still have more viewers and generate more revenue than your vacuum cleaners’ competition. Greetings”.
Jeff Dodds really came under the heat from F1 fans due to his bold statement. But, only time will reveal whether his claim turns out to be true or not.
Is Jeff Dodds going on extreme lands with his Max Verstappen claims ahead of next season? Or is he just spitting out ‘real and hard’ facts about what’s to come this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
