When Max Verstappen secured his fourth world championship this year, little did the F1 world know that even better news would befall the Dutchman. Ahead of the final race weekend, Verstappen revealed that his partner Kelly Piquet was pregnant.
Of course, talks about Verstappen‘s child getting into racing have already taken over. When Verstappen’s mother Sophie Kumpen was expecting him, his father Jos (a former F1 driver) made a bold claim that if he had the talent of both his parents, ‘a World Champion for the year 2020 would be born’. This was per a magazine published back in 1997.
Jos was almost accurate, as Verstappen had gone on to win the title, just one year later. Now, most would also expect his child, due in 2025, to become a talented world championship-level driver as well.
| Max Verstappen has announced that him and his girlfriend Kelly Piquet are expecting their first child together
“Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way ❤️”#F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/k55B6SATef
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) December 6, 2024
Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko was asked about the same recently. The Austrian joked that he would love to sign him or her up already.
“But if the grandfather is a triple world champion and the father is a four-time world champion, then there should be some potential in terms of genes,” Marko said per Kleine Zeitung. The grandfather he was referring to was Nelson Piquet, his partner’s dad.
Unfortunately for Marko, his wish to sign Verstappen 3.0 may not come true.
Verstappen has a different life planned out for his kid
When he was small, Jos would make sure his son would train hard enough to develop the skills to become a top F1 driver. Verstappen worked tirelessly, faced his father’s wrath when he made mistakes, and also sacrificed a normal childhood — all to reach the summit. And he did.
Verstappen is part of the same table as some of F1’s best drivers ever, and being just 27 years old, the doors are open for him to achieve even more greatness.
But does he want the same thing for his kids? Probably not. In an earlier interview, Verstappen revealed that he would never push his kids to take up motorsport as a career.
He wanted them to choose a life for themselves and insisted that he would support them in whatever they wanted to do. At the same time, he would also stand by their side if they decide to follow in his footsteps.
