Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet shocked the world on Friday morning when they announced that they are expecting a child.
The couple have been dating since 2020 and shared the news on Instagram via a tender black-and-white snap with their hands on Piquet’s belly.
‘Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way. We couldn’t be happier with our little miracle,’ the couple wrote.
It has been a turbulent week for four-time champion Verstappen after George Russell accused him of being a ‘bully’ on the grid – and of threatening him on the track.
Kelly is the daughter of F1 legend Nelson Piquet, who won three Drivers’ Championships himself in the 1980s, though he was also embroiled in a racism scandal with Lewis Hamilton.
With all this in mind, Mail Sport walks you through Kelly’s life, her relationship history (including having a kid with a former F1 star), and her family background.
Max Verstappen and his girlfriend Kelly Piquet have announced that they are expecting a baby
Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way. We couldn’t be happier with our little miracle,’ they wrote
Who is Kelly Piquet?
Piquet was born in Germany in 1988 to Brazilian F1 legend Nelson and her Dutch model mother Sylvia Tamsma.
She spent most of her early childhood growing up in the south of France, but she also had stints in Brazil and England. Her father, being in the twilight of his F1 career, was often on the road.
She has had a varied career, working as a fashion model, stylist assistant, public relations professional, blogger, and Marie Claire columnist. The 35-year-old holds a degree in international relations.
In 2015 she took a big step out of the fashion world and became a social media manager for Formula E, the leading electric car motorsport championship. That work had her incredibly busy.
‘I carry three cell phones with me all the time, covering everything related to online content and social media,’ she said.
‘Fashion has always been in the background, to tell the truth. Although it encompasses my lifestyle and I get a lot of invitations, time doesn’t allow me to do it. But I believe that this subject is not restricted or closed and it somehow shines through in my work with Formula.’
In 2017, she started dating a former F1 star – who we will discuss shortly – and in July 2019 had a daughter Penelope with him, although the couple went on to break up that December.
Verstappen has taken on fatherhood duties and they raise Penelope, nicknamed ‘P’, in Monaco. Penelope turned five over the summer and enjoys ballet as well as accompanying her parents at races.
Piquet had had a varied career as a fashion model, stylist assistant, PR professional, blogger, columnist, and social media manager
She spent most of her childhood in the south of France but is Brazilian and also had stints there and in England
What is her relationship with Verstappen like?
Verstappen and Piquet first met in Monaco in 2016, when he was just 19 and she was 28. They had a meal with her brother, Nelson Piquet Jr, and reflecting on the evening with Vogue Netherlands in December 2022, Kelly said that ‘something magical happened that night’.
That said, they only got together in 2020 after her relationship with another F1 star.
The pair made their romance public in 2021 when Verstappen shared a photo of them on New Year’s Day. ‘Let’s make 2021 a year to remember in many ways. Wishing you all success, love and happiness just as I found mine,’ he wrote.
Verstappen has assumed parenting duties for Penelope and they have both revealed in the past that they would like to grow their family.
‘I’m not the father, that’s not the aim,’ Verstappen said last year. ‘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.’
Penelope could one day have siblings. ‘Personally, I would like to have more children,’ Piquet told Vogue.
Piquet and Verstappen are quite public about their relationship and occasionally feature photographs of each other on their respective Instagram accounts.
In October they got dressed up for an evening out, with Piquet in a red dress and Verstappen donning a white shirt and black suit. ‘Marry the woman already Max,’ one fan wrote.
Piquet regularly accompanies Verstappen as he tours the world racing in Formula One
She has a daughter called Penelope from a previous relationship with a Formula One driver
What is Piquet’s relationship history?
Her first ever boyfriend was reportedly Antonio Pedro Marcondes Ferraz, although little is known about him.
They were engaged in 2012, just a year after they got together, but they called off the betrothal in 2013.
Piquet’s most high-profile relationship was with former AlphaTauri (now RB) driver Daniil Kvyat. He was actually supposed to be team-mates with Verstappen at Toro Rosso but was promoted to Red Bull ahead of the Dutchman’s debut season.
In 2016, Kvyat was the man who Verstappen replaced at the Spanish Grand Prix for Red Bull – and you know how the story on the track goes from there.
Piquet and Kvyat are said to have met at various F1 events in 2017, the same year that they got into a relationship.
In July 2019 they had Penelope but split up just five months after that.
‘December 18, 2019 — nothing in your life can leave without a possible replacement. The end always has a reason,’ said Piquet in a cryptic post.
‘When you cannot quite figure out why — it’s okay, time will always provide more answers. Keep moving forward and believe that the best is ahead.’
She used to be in a relationship with former AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kvyat – and had Penelope with him
Her father is three-time F1 champion Nelson Piquet (left), who was accused of being racist and homophobic towards Lewis Hamilton
Who is her father?
Kelly’s father is Nelson Piquet, a three-time Formula One champion in the 1980s.
He won 23 races and is known for his rivalry with English driver Nigel Mansell, coming out on top and restricting the Williams star to one championship in 1992.
However, in 2022 he was banned from the F1 paddock and a year later was made to pay £780,000 in damages for allegedly racist and homophobic remarks towards Lewis Hamilton.
A Brazilian court ruled against him after he was filmed on a podcast using a N-word slur against Hamilton – along with a homophobic slur.
Piquet made the remarks against the Mercedes driver during an interview in November 2021, when commenting on Hamilton’s British Grand Prix crash with Verstappen. He used the derogatory Portuguese phrase ‘neguinho’ while referring to the seven-time world champion.
‘What I said was ill thought out, and I make no defence for it, but I will clarify that the term used is one that has widely and historically been used colloquially in Brazilian Portuguese as a synonym for ‘guy’ or ‘person’ and was never intended to offend,’ said Piquet.
‘I would never use the word I have been accused of in some translations. I strongly condemn any suggestion that the word was used by me with the aim of belittling a driver because of his skin colour.
‘I apologise wholeheartedly to anyone that was affected, including Lewis, who is an incredible driver, but the translation in some media that is now circulating on social media is not correct.’
