Max Verstappen to miss Miami media day with first child expected

Max Verstappen will not be in attendance for Thursday’s media day in Miami, as the Dutch driver’s personal life is set to change dramatically.

Verstappen is expecting a baby with his long-term partner Kelly Piquet, and the Dutch driver has been confirmed as missing Thursday’s media day – his attendance for the Grand Prix itself is not in question.

Max Verstappen to miss media day

Red Bull has confirmed Verstappen will miss Thursday’s media duties at the Miami Autodrome as “he is expecting a baby”.

The team has clarified that “all is well” and that Verstappen “will attend track tomorrow [Friday] for the race weekend”.

Red Bull states no further comment will be made in respect of the privacy of Verstappen and his family. It’s not clear whether or not the couple has already welcomed their baby.

Hints had emerged in the build-up to the weekend, with fans noticing that Verstappen’s private jet had not left Nice, while Red Bull had not issued its usual pre-weekend media schedule clarifying the times at which Verstappen would speak to the press.

Kelly Piquet, daughter of three-time F1 World Champion Nelson, has been in a relationship with Verstappen since 2020, with Verstappen becoming a second father figure to Piquet’s daughter Penelope, whom she had in her previous relationship with former Red Bull F1 driver Daniil Kvyat.

Verstappen is understood to have remained in Monaco with his partner before he heads to Miami to take part in this weekend’s action around the Hard Rock Stadium – his private jet took off from Nice Airport on Thursday evening.

Although Verstappen and Piquet have not revealed the gender during the build-up to the child’s arrival, eagle-eyed fans on social media believe it is a girl after Piquet’s baby shower, which was held on Verstappen’s ‘Unleash The Lion’ yacht, showed colours of pink with green.

All the four-time World Champion has said of his growing family is: “It’s super exciting.

“Luckily, I did get a little bit of training with Penelope, seeing her grow up already for like four years. Which has also been really, really nice.”

The expected due date had been around May 6th, between the Miami and Emilia Romagna Grands Prix, meaning the baby – perhaps embracing genes which have already claimed seven world titles and counting – is already showing signs of speed.

Verstappen has been matter-of-fact about the possibility of him potentially missing the birth of his first child, acknowledging that it’s not possible for a competitor in his position to take paternity leave.

“Anything is possible,” Verstappen conceded last year about the possibility of an early arrival clashing with a Grand Prix, “but in F1 that [paternity leave] doesn’t exist. You cannot take two months off.

“If it happens, it happens. There’s nothing I can do about it.

“Unfortunately, F1 drivers don’t get time off, but at the same time I’m also not the one that is giving birth.”

Over the winter break, Verstappen joked that – with eight penalty points on his Super Licence – he might just court a race ban to ensure he’s off when his child is born, or even drop a few F-bombs to earn an FIA suspension.

The birth of Verstappen’s child means that he’s just the second driver on the grid to be a father, joining Nico Hulkenberg. Verstappen’s former teammate Sergio Perez, as well as Kevin Magnussen, are recent departures from the grid to have started families in recent years.

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