Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet announce they are expecting their first child: "We couldn't be happier"

The Red Bull driver took to social media with partner Kelly Piquet to announce that they are expecting their first child together. The pair have been together for four years now, having known one another since 2016.

Verstappen, 27, is eight years younger than Piquet, who is the daughter of former F1 world champion Nelson Piquet. Her brother, Nelson Piquet Jr, also raced in the sport during the mid-2000s, but quit the sport after the Crashgate scandal of Singapore 2008.

In a joint post on Instagram, the couple shared a photo of Verstappen holding Piquet’s baby bump with a caption that said: “Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way. We couldn’t be happier with our little miracle.”

Piquet has another daughter, Penelope, who was born in July 2019. Penelope’s father is Daniil Kvyat, another former F1 driver. Ironically, Verstappen took Kvyat’s seat at Red Bull during the 2016 season, before winning on his debut for the team at the Spanish Grand Prix.

He claimed his fourth world championship at the Las Vegas Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago, with this weekend’s season finale at Abu Dhabi serving as a glorified victory lap for the Dutchman.

Last weekend’s clash with Mercedes driver George Russell - which took place both on-track and in the stewards’ office - led to Verstappen claiming to have “lost all respect” for the Brit, while Russell hit back by claming Verstappen is a “bully” and that other drivers should stand up for themselves more against him.