Max Verstappen: The first child comes, Miami races without him!

Max Verstappen: The first child comes, Miami races without him!

Miami, USA - Max Verstappen will not take part in Miami at the start of the race weekend, since his girlfriend Kelly Piquet is about to be born shortly before the birth of her first child. The Dutch Formula 1 driver will leave the Media Day to be there at birth. Verstappen, however, is planning to take part in training as a freshly baked father on Friday, reports OE24 .

currently is still in Europe, where his private jet is available in Nice. He is expected to arrive in Miami in time for the first training session on Friday. In Miami there is only free training and qualifying, since a sprint weekend is scheduled for this weekend. In addition, Verstappen was also missing at the sponsor appointments before the race, while Yuki Tsunoda took part in the media events in Florida, such as Espn reported.

personal changes in the life of the champion

Max Verstappen awaits the birth of his first child with Kelly Piquet, who announced the pregnancy in front of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of the previous year on social media. The stress and change through the upcoming parenting lead a light on the challenges that athletes have to face when they reconcile family obligations with professional sport. Mothers in competitive sports often face similar challenges, as the marathon runner Fabienne Königstein emphasizes, who became a mother in the summer of 2022. According to her, pregnant women in sports are often on their own and need more support, as can be read in an article by Deutschlandfunk

The topics of pregnancy in sport and the associated challenges are not only relevant for women. Male athletes such as Verstappen also experience massive changes in their lives. The respect for their privacy in such personal affairs is elementary, which was also listed in the communication of Red Bull. Again and again the call for changes becomes loud to improve the compatibility of competitive sports and family, both for mothers and fathers.

In sporting contexts, family obligations of athletes are often a sensitive issue, while at the same time expectations of their services remain high. Such personal changes can be a source of strength and distraction and show how important the balance between work and private life is for athletes.