At 25 years old, Max Verstappen has achieved it all, with the prospect of more. With his career in line, he is also lucky to have a stable and lovely relationship with Kelly Piquet, and more importantly, her daughter, Penelope. Having made his intentions of having a family clear, Verstappen recently opened up about being the father figure in little P’s life.
Verstappen and Piquet had made their relationship official early in 2021. Since then the public has witnessed their bond grow into a beautiful relationship with Piquet there to support the Red Bull champion at almost every race weekend.
Complete with romantic getaways and post-race PDA, what has stood out has been Verstappen’s bond with Penelope. Bringing out the soft side to the rough and aggressive Verstappen with tea parties and swimming lessons.
Thus the couple wants to eventually start a family together. Piquet had commented, “Personally, I would like to have more children.” Even the F1 wunderkind hopes to have children one day. “I definitely want kids and if they want to race, that’s fine.”
Max Verstappen on being Penelope’s father
In a recent interview with SkySports, Verstappen was asked about his place as a father in Penelope’s life. Although P’s father is former F1 driver Daniil Kyvat, Verstappen has played a prominent role in her life over the last three years.
“It’s not really my role that I think I have, but somehow I do my best to try to be in some way.” Verstappen explains what this entails, “Obviously at first you never know how it will go because it’s all new to you, now I’m more serene and it’s a lot of fun to have her around.”
The dynamic duo of P and Verstappen has won the hearts of fans since day one. With Verstappen admitting to having a fun bond with the 4-year-old, it’s exciting to see where this little family goes in the future.
Kelly Piquet keeps Penelope away from Verstappen’s GP weekends
While P and Verstappen have had an unbreakable bond, she is never spotted cheering on her best friend during a race weekend. Her mother makes it very clear why she hasn’t been spotted on the paddock just yet.
As the daughter of an F1 driver herself, Piquet has had the first-hand experience of being a child on the paddock. But with today’s paparazzi and fans flooding the circuits, she chooses to protect her daughter.
Therefore, she has a good reason. “I haven’t taken P to races yet, she hasn’t asked for one yet and I’d rather keep her away from photographers for now.”
However, this doesn’t mean it is completely off the table. “If she asks, I might take her one day when it’s not too busy.” With Verstappen having a stellar season, surely it would be great to see Penelope’s face before his podium celebrations as well. There’s always time in the future.
