Despite having multiple pet cats, Max Verstappen is admittedly a dog person. The Dutchman has owned two cats for a while and also recently got another kitten named ‘Donatello’. However, he has also had a canine in the past and seems to have added another one to his family.
Previously an owner to two Bengal cats, Verstappen explicitly confirmed at the Las Vegas GP that he got another kitten. But the news of him adopting another dog has come out via gossip pages on social media. @f1gossippofficial revealed on Instagram that Verstappen‘s girlfriend Kelly Piquet was spotted with a puppy at an event in Monaco.
Turns out, the rumors are true as Verstappen confirmed getting a dachshund named Nino on a recent live stream with his sim racing squad, Team Redline. The Dutchman, while in the middle of explaining the similarities and difference between sim and real racing, got food handed to him.
As he was about to keep his bowl beside his rig on the floor, he realized that Nino might want to take a bite or two and decided against it. “Oh, I can’t put it there, my dog will eat it,” he said.
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To this, the host Luke Crane responded, “The chat has asked this question then, ‘dog confirmed’, everyone’s got excited. There is a dog. I asked you yesterday what type of dog and you said a brown one. What type of dog is it, what’s it called?”
Breaking the suspense, Verstappen promptly answered, “Dachshund – Nino. He left again because I put the food up here. So, he’s not interested anymore in me.”
The four-time F1 champ has always been a dog lover. Despite that, he has a house full of cats. Simply because felines are better at keeping care of themselves than their canine counterparts. That aside, Nino is not the first pet dog Verstappen has had.
Verstappen may be a dog person but prefers having cats as pets
The Red Bull driver used to own a dog named ‘Spyke’, who passed away in December 2020 after living for 11 years. He posted about the same on Instagram, expressing grief about the same.
“My little friend is no more… rest in peace Spyke, 11 years I won’t forget…,” he wrote in the caption.
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Now, that ain’t the reason why the Dutchman did not adopt another dog right away. He stated in an interview that he feels cats are more “self-sufficient” than the canines. So, when he is away for most of the year due to his packed F1 schedule, his pet cats can stay without much attention and care.
“When I’m traveling a lot, to take care of a dog, it’s like a child. So it’s a bit more difficult,” Verstappen said. This makes sense as many drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have been seen bringing their pet dogs to the paddock. There is a good chance that Nino will join Hamilton’s Roscoe and Leclerc’s Leo now.
