“I Am a Bonus Dad Already”: Max Verstappen Credits Kelly Piquet’s Daughter for Fatherhood Prep

Max Verstappen became a father earlier this week, with his partner Kelly Piquet giving birth to their daughter, Lily. However, the task of parenting, which often appears quite daunting to many, doesn’t worry Verstappen thanks to Piquet’s first daughter, Penelope, who has been living with them for four years.

Penelope, or ‘P’ as she’s affectionately called, has shared some adorable moments with Verstappen over the years, revealing a softer side of the Red Bull driver, who is otherwise a fierce competitor in F1.

Often, when Verstappen streams his online races, Penelope interrupts him—distracting him and creating wholesome moments. While he sometimes tries his best to ignore the five-year-old’s antics, there are times when he simply gives in and shares a laugh with her. Now, the Dutchman could have two young girls crashing his sim-racing sessions.

Still, Verstappen is confident in his parenting skills with Lily, thanks to the experience he’s already had. While some read books and mentally prepare themselves for fatherhood, the Dutchman doesn’t believe he needs to do so.

“Well, the thing is that I am kinda like a bonus dad already of course, with my girlfriend already having one daughter [Penelope]. I saw her grew up since she was one year old and for sure, that helps a lot already to prepare for your own child,” he said in an interview with ESPN.

Verstappen is also confident he won’t lose sleep while taking care of Lily at night. He’s used to managing his rest, thanks to F1’s hectic schedule, which requires him to constantly adjust to different time zones. In fact, despite a whirlwind few days that included Lily’s birth and an immediate flight to Miami for the race, he looked fresh and unfazed.

“Knowing that I would arrive a bit later to Miami, just trying to be already a bit alert in the middle of the time zone and that’s why when I arrived last night, I slept for more than 8 hours,” the 27-year-old said.

Reports suggest that Piquet gave birth to Lily on Thursday, which led to Verstappen missing his media day duties at the Miami International Autodrome ahead of the weekend.

However, Red Bull confirmed that the Dutchman would arrive in Miami in time for the start of the race weekend on Friday. And he did.

The Milton Keynes-based team was fully supportive of Verstappen staying in Monaco for Lily’s birth, recognizing it as a very special moment in his personal life. And although he had to rush to Miami soon after, the Red Bull driver shared that he did get some time to spend with his newborn daughter.