"We couldn’t be happier" - Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet announce pregnancy as they prepare to welcome their first child
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has announced that he is expecting a child with his long-term girlfriend Kelly Piquet next year. The Dutch driver recently won his fourth successive world championship in Las Vegas and celebrated the occasion with his family, a couple of days later.
Piquet, a Brazilian model, hails from a racing family. Her father is former three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet Sr., who raced in the sport predominately in the 80s. She also has a brother, Nelson Piquet Jr., who previously raced for Renault F1 team in 2008 and 2009.
Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet have been going out for the past four years and are often spotted in the paddock. The Red Bull driver took to his Instagram to announce the news that Piquet was pregnant with their first child. He wrote:
"Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way ❤️ We couldn’t be happier with our little miracle."
Speaking with a Dutch publication Limburger in 2022, the 27-year-old spoke about how he would want to have a different parenting style from his father, Jos Verstappen, and said:
“I definitely want kids and if they want to race, that's fine. I do think I would do it differently than how my father and I did it. I don't see that at the moment. But it's easy for me to talk because I don't have kids. Maybe I'll think very differently when the time comes. But, the passion he had went very far."
When Max Verstappen's girlfriend spoke about his desire to have more kids
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's girlfriend was previously vocal about his desire to have more kids in the future while delving into her passion project involving young children.
In a conversation with Vogue, Kelly said:
“Personally, I would like to have more children. My main goal is to realize a charity project for children. When I was studying in New York I volunteered in Tanzania for the first summer. I was in Bagamoyo, a village four hours from Dar es Salaam, teaching English to children aged three and four. It was tough, but one of the happiest times of my life.”
Kelly Piquet shares her five-year-old daughter, Penelope, with former F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, who had previously raced in the sport from 2014 to 2020. The 35-year-old lives in Monaco with Verstappen along with her daughter. While speaking with Time, the Dutchman spoke about his relationship with Penelope and said:
“I’m not the father, that’s not the aim. It’s always very important that she has a good relationship with her own father, which she has. But I see her every day when I’m at home. We get on very well. She’s very cute.”
However, Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet have not spoken about getting married in the future and settling down together.