Kelly Piquet Shares Dad Nelson Piquet and Boyfriend Max Verstappen’s Rare Shared Record in Japan

Kelly Piquet and Max Verstappen(L), Nelson Piquet(R)

Back in 2023, Max Verstappen achieved the stuff of dreams with the kind of records he broke that season. The Dutchman won an unbelievable 19 of the 22 races held that year en route to his third world title.

However, during that year’s British GP, Verstappen joked that his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, would not be too happy about his achievements as he was just a two-time world champion at the time. So, he said he had to catch up with Kelly’s father, Nelson Piquet, who won three championships (1981, 1983, 1987).

“It’s probably also not that impressive to her, right? Her dad is a three-time world champion, so I still need to catch up,” he had joked.

However, coming into the 2025 season, Verstappen has not only surpassed Nelson’s record — with four titles to his name — but he also shares a very prestigious stat with the legendary Brazilian driver. Kelly brought it to the notice of the fans by sharing it on social media. This stat has to do with the significance this weekend’s Japanese GP holds for both drivers.

Both Nelson and Verstappen won one of their titles at the Japanese GP (1987 and 2022, respectively).

The Japanese GP has seen 13 instances of drivers being crowned world champions at the Suzuka Circuit and Fuji. The likes of Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, James Hunt, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Damon Hill, and Alain Prost are the other drivers who have won at least one of their titles at this iconic track.

Historically, the race in Japan tended to be placed further down the calendar, with it also being the season finale in the late 1900s and early 2000s. So, it was common for some title fights to go down to the wire and a champion be crowned at this Grand Prix weekend.

However, since 2024, the event has been pushed up the calendar, and so none of the other drivers will win a championship at this historic circuit in the foreseeable future.

Post Edited By: Vidit Dhawan
Japanese GP Kelly Piquet Max Verstappen Nelson Piquet Red Bull

About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.

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