How Max Verstappen is experiencing his first days as a Formula 1 dad and why Christian Horner would prefer to sell his baby Lily for a high price…
Max Verstappen is currently reaching for his smartphone much more often than he normally does. The four-time Formula 1 world champion only traveled to the Miami Grand Prix on Thursday in his private jet because he wanted to spend his first days as a new dad to the fullest with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet, her daughter Penelope, and their little daughter Lily.
“It was nice to be able to spend the last few days at home before I had to come here,” said Verstappen (27). He said he is ‘in constant contact with my girlfriend all day’ in Miami. ”She sends me photos, and sometimes we FaceTime. It’s always on our minds. Now we have one more member of the family.”
Team boss Christian Horner notices how proud Verstappen is this weekend: “Becoming a father and welcoming a beautiful little girl into the world is a huge thing for him.” And Helmut Marko can’t help but smile when he says: “He showed photos of the little one with the dog, the cat and everything else that lives there. He’s happy. You can tell.”
Marko: As a father, Verstappen is even faster!
Marko has no fears that Verstappen will now put the mental brakes on because he might worry that he won’t be able to return to his young family one day: “We haven’t become three tenths slower, we’ve become two tenths faster,” believes Red Bull’s motorsport consultant.
Horner nods: “As soon as he puts on his helmet and leaves the pit lane, everything else is blocked out. His ability to focus and just deliver is incredible.” Verstappen also makes it clear that fears about his speed in Formula 1 are “nonsense”: “We can confidently throw that theory out the window,” he laughs after securing pole position in qualifying.
“There are plenty of racing drivers who have become world champions after having a child,” says Verstappen, possibly thinking of his own father-in-law Nelson Piquet, who was already a father of three when he became Formula 1 champion for the third time in 1987. Incidentally, Verstappen’s girlfriend Kelly was born in 1988.
It’s true, says Verstappen, that Lily was “just born” and that they want to make sure “everything is okay. But that obviously hasn’t slowed me down. It really makes no difference, it has no influence. I’ve known Penelope since she was one year old. So it’s not a shock to my life, and it doesn’t feel like everything is suddenly different. That has helped, of course.”
Penelope is the daughter of Kelly Piquet, whose father, incidentally, is Russian racing driver Daniil Kvyat. It is an irony of history that Kvyat was kicked out of Red Bull Racing in 2016 and replaced by Verstappen – both on the racetrack and in his private life. But regardless of the backstory, Verstappen takes great care of his stepdaughter, as his fans have been able to observe in several e-sports livestreams.
Little daughter Lily: The best Formula 1 genes
Verstappen admits that he now wakes up “a little earlier” when he sleeps at home and helps Kelly with the baby “as much as I can. But in the beginning, when they’re so small, that’s mainly the mother’s job, of course.” For now, he only plans to change diapers “if there are emergencies,” grins the Red Bull star, adding, “That will happen eventually.”
Perhaps he is secretly (and tongue-in-cheek) quite happy to be in Miami, where he can sleep peacefully in his comfortable hotel room. But Verstappen cannot deny that something has changed in his life. He even reveals that his resting heart rate is higher now, but adds: “Actually, nothing really upsets me anymore.”
“Once you’ve achieved your dreams in sport, i.e. won races and titles, it relaxes you immensely. Even if you have a bad day, it doesn’t matter that much anymore. It’s about how you correct things, how you deal with them. And that’s exactly what calms you down.”
Christian Horner is certain that Verstappen will be “a very present father. His life will be different now, and he’ll be changing diapers in the middle of the night. But I always have to remember: this child’s genes are incredible, Verstappen and Piquet… If Lily were a racehorse, she’d be worth a fortune!”
