Red Bull driver Max Verstappen liked his girlfriend Kelly Piquet's latest post on social media, where she was seen flaunting her baby bump. The Dutch driver and his partner are about to become parents in the coming weeks for the first time after initially announcing the pregnancy ahead of the 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The four-time F1 world champion has made another commendable start to a season, where he might become only the second driver after Michael Schumacher to win five consecutive Drivers' titles. However, off the track, he has been looking forward to becoming a father for the first time.
On her Instagram, Kelly Piquet, who is in her final trimester, shared a series of pictures with the couple's pet dog, Nino, on their yacht. In her caption, she wrote:
"Lazy Sunday with my bestie"
The post has over 180k likes, including Max Verstappen, as she flaunted her baby bump.
Kelly Piquet has not been spotted as a frequent spotter in the F1 paddock and has stayed away from the limelight of the sport to focus on her pregnancy. However, she has continued to support the 27-year-old from afar, as evidenced by her social media posts.
Red Bull team boss chimes in on Max Verstappen's future
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner stated that he believed the rumors regarding Max Verstappen's future with the Austrian team were "noise."
Speaking with RacingNews365, the 51-year-old said in Jeddah about the subject:
“There’s been a lot of noise… the noise has been out there and not in here. Max has been working very hard with the team. He’s stated again that his focus is here. He’s working incredibly hard on this, together collectively with the rest of the team.
“We’re a team. We win together and we lose together, that’s the way we operate. Our focus is on sorting the car out. We had a decent Saturday and Sunday [in Saudi Arabia] and everything is still in play.”
Heading into Jeddah, there were many reports regarding the Dutch driver's future with Red Bull, and even linked him with the move away, potentially to Mercedes or Aston Martin as early as the 2026 season. However, the 27-year-old squashed these rumors and emphasized that he was focused on developing the RB21 with Red Bull and mounting a title challenge.
Last time around in Saudi Arabia, Max Verstappen came agonizingly close to getting his second win of the year and taking himself to P2 in the championship. However, he was denied the chance owing to his five-second penalty and finished behind Oscar Piastri on the track. He sits P3 in the standings, two points behind Lando Norris and 10 behind Piastri.