The Great Escape - Max Verstappen and the Abu Dhabi Dinner

In the glittering aftermath of the 2025 Formula 1 season, Max Verstappen and the other drivers gathered for their traditional end-of-season dinner in Abu Dhabi—a night of laughter, stories, and unspoken rivalries set aside under the Yas Marina lights.

Organized by the ever-gracious Lewis Hamilton, the private room buzzed with the grid’s finest: from four-time world champion Max Verstappen to his old friend Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and the rest of the pack. The food was lavish, the drinks flowed freely, and the camaraderie was genuine after a grueling year.

As the evening wore on, jokes flew about the bill. It was no secret among the drivers that this year, it was supposedly Max’s turn to foot the extravagant tab—a playful nod to tradition where experienced drivers like champions often stepped up. “The drivers are joking a little bit like ‘this year it’s Max’s turn.’ I was like, ‘yeah, sure,'” Max later recalled with a grin on the latest Talking Bulls Podcast.

Max, seated on the opposite side of the entrance to the private room, was deep in conversation, sipping his gin and tonics far from the action near the door. The night was filled with laughs, reminiscences of karting days, and toasts to a season that had seen ups and downs for everyone. No one was in a rush to end it—until suddenly, people started checking their watches and making moves to leave.

That’s when the revelation hit: Pierre Gasly, the Alpine driver and Max’s former Red Bull teammate, had quietly slipped away and settled the entire bill. “I was sitting on the opposite side of the entrance of the private room, so for like most of the night you’re having a laugh, and then suddenly people were wanting to go,” Max explained in his end-of-season podcast review. ”

Then we realized that Pierre had already paid for the dinner. I was drinking my gin and tonics on the other side.”

The room erupted in chuckles. Pierre, with his characteristic French charm, had pulled off the ultimate stealth move, sparing Max the hefty check (and perhaps earning some good karma points). Max, known for his competitiveness on track but generosity off it, laughed it off but vowed redemption.

“I’m normally very generous with these kind of things,” he insisted. “I just didn’t get to pay yet, but I’m sure that we have another dinner next year… So I guess next time, before I enter, I have to tell them that at the end of the night, the bill is for me so that I can actually finally pay it.”

As the drivers filed out into the Abu Dhabi night, the story of Pierre’s surprise payment became the perfect coda to a dramatic season—one where underdogs rose, friendships endured, and even a simple dinner turned into a tale of friendly one-upmanship. Max headed home with a light wallet and a good story, already plotting his payback for 2026. After all, in F1, the race never really ends.