MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Four-time reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen skipped Thursday activities ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix to be with his partner as she awaits the birth of their first child.
It is not clear when Kelly Piquet is due, and Verstappen’s Red Bull team only announced Thursday morning that the 27-year-old Dutch driver would not attend media activities. The team said no further details would be released and that Verstappen is expected in Miami in time for on-track action Friday.
Piquet’s sister, Julia, said last week at Talladega Superspeedway — NASCAR had a stop at the Alabama track last weekend — that Kelly was too far along in her pregnancy to travel to Miami for Sunday’s race.
Verstappen and Piquet, the daughter of three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet, went public with their relationship in 2021. She has a daughter, Penelope, with driver Daniil Kvyat that Verstappen is very close with, but her current pregnancy will be the first child for the Dutchman.
Verstappen, who has 64 grand prix victories in his F1 career to rank third on the career wins last, has won the past four season championships for the international open-wheel circuit. However, he has just one GP win this season as McLaren has shown an early edge over Red Bull headed into Sunday’s race, the sixth of the season. Verstappen is third in the series standings.