Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that he bet Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko €1000 that Valtteri Bottas would leave Mercedes before the start of the 2019 Formula 1 season.

During last season's silly season, a period during which the sport's drivers decide whether or not they wish to stay with their current team or move on to pastures new, Bottas was rumoured to be considering his options amidst a potential switch.

And Renault driver Ricciardo was so sure the Finn would move on, he bet the amount with Marko, who was adamant that Bottas would stay with the British outfit.

In the end, Marko was proved to be right, and it ended up being a good decision from Bottas, who currently sits in second place behind teammate Lewis Hamilton in the Formula 1 rankings.

"He did win €1000," Ricciardo told Motorsport. "He always wants to bet more – but when he wants to bet more, you know he already knows the answer!

"I'm not a gambling man, I don't really bet or go to casinos. A thousand is not by choice, it's a bit of peer pressure from Helmut."

Ricciardo, who himself switched from Red Bull to Renault before the start of the 2019 campaign, shared that he won the money back, but is not willing to bet again with his former boss any time soon.

“We did another bet actually, I think it was in Melbourne, and I won it back. So we're even. It was qualifying, he thought they would be top three in qualifying, and I thought they wouldn't, and they weren't, so I got my money back.

"I don't want to bet with him anymore. But it's OK, if our relationship is like that, it's quite fun!”

Bottas, who won the year's first race in Ricciardo's native Australia, will be back in action this weekend in Azerbaijan, along with Ricciardo himself and the rest of the Formula 1 competitors.