Max Verstappen skips Miami GP media day with girlfriend due to give birth | F1 | Sport
Max Verstappen will not be attending the media day ahead of the Miami Grand Prix as his girlfriend Kelly Piquet is about to give birth. The Dutchman’s Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda is due to attend a press conference on Thursday afternoon, but there won’t be an opportunity for media to speak to the reigning F1 world champion.
Verstappen and Piquet began dating in 2020 after meeting for the first time four years earlier. The F1 superstar announced his girlfriend’s pregnancy at the start of December as he revealed he would become a father for the first time. And the mother of the baby hinted earlier this year that she is expecting a baby girl.
The Miami Grand Prix weekend is set to be action-packed, with a Sprint race scheduled for Saturday afternoon ahead of the main event on Sunday. Sprint qualifying will take place on Friday, with the main qualifying session scheduled for Saturday evening.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are the favourites to clinch victory in the main race thanks to the dominance of the McLaren car.
But Verstappen is next in the running after clinching victory at the Japanese Grand Prix in April and claiming two other podium places since the campaign got underway.
The exact date of baby Verstappen’s arrival hasn’t been announced, although an F1 insider previously revealed the infant would be born before the end of April.
The driver, himself, has stated that he does not intend to miss any races this year, even if there is a clash with the birth.
And Red Bull have confirmed the 27-year-old will be at the Miami International Autodrome circuit in Florida for the race weekend. But he will skip his media day duties beforehand.
Discussing the prospect of missing his baby’s birth during an interview with Dutch publication Algemeen Dagblad in February, Verstappen explained: “This is just part of being a Formula 1 driver. If it happens, it happens. I can’t do anything about it.
“Unfortunately, Formula 1 drivers don’t get any free time. But at the same time, I’m not the one who gives birth. Anything is possible, but in Formula 1 that doesn’t exist. You can’t take two months off. Or I have to be suspended because I have too many penalty points for swearing.”
He added: “But it’s hard to put into words as long as the baby isn’t here yet. I’m looking forward to it, also to how I’m going to experience it all year. To be honest, I hope not much changes.”
