Max Verstappen says becoming a dad ‘hasn’t slowed me down’
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Fatherhood isn’t slowing down Max Verstappen. After the birth of his daughter, Lily, earlier this week in Monaco, the four-time Formula 1 world champion stormed to pole ahead of Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix.
One myth of motorsport is that once a racer becomes a parent, a certain amount of pace is lost. The mind of a parent can grapple with new calculations over risk tolerance, and in that instant of indecision, fractions of a second in performance can slip away.
Not so for Verstappen.
“Clearly, it didn’t make me slower being a dad, so that’s a positive,” he said in Saturday’s post-qualifying news conference. “So we can throw that out of the window as well, for people mentioning it.
“I don’t really listen to these kind of silly things, I just do my thing,” Verstappen added. “I think there are enough racing drivers in the past who have been world champions even after having kids. Honestly, I don’t know where this has even come from.”
The 27-year-old Dutchman beat Lando Norris to top spot in qualifying by 0.065 seconds, Norris joked after the session he hoped Verstappen would be slower now he’s a father. Andrea Kimi Antonelli finished third, just 0.002 seconds adrift of the McLaren.
Since arriving to the Miami International Autodrome on Friday morning, Verstappen took fourth-place finishes in practice and the sprint race, only for a 10-second penalty for an unsafe release in pit lane to drop him to 17th on Saturday.
It’s been an impressive first race weekend back in the F1 paddock, one that started a day late after the Red Bull No. 1 missed Thursday’s media day to spend time with his daughter and longtime girlfriend Kelly Piquet.
“It’s been good to be able to spend a few days at home before coming here,” Verstappen said. “When she’s just been born, you want to make sure everything is OK.
“I am in contact a lot with my girlfriend anyway throughout the day, getting pictures and on FaceTime a bit. It’s always there, but now one more member in the family.”
Source: espn.com