How becoming a father may change Verstappen’s approach to F1

Max Verstappen and his partner Kelly Piquet have announced on social media they are expecting their first child together.

It is excellent news as the reigning world champion prepares to become a father for the first time, while Piquet, the daughter of three-time champion Nelson Piquet, had a daughter in 2019 with former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat.

There are currently three fathers on the F1 grid – Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg.

Having children is obviously not a talent-limiting factor for men or women in other sports either, so why should it matter?

In 2011, Jenson Button was asked by the Daily Express if having children would make him think twice about going for a risky overtake manoeuvre.

He said: “When I have kids it will change, but not yet. That’s one reason why I don’t want to have kids while I am racing.

“It’s not worth the risk. Also, you don’t get enough time to spend with them. It hasn’t crept in yet – I will stop when it does. If you start feeling fearful of pushing the car to the limit, you have got to stop. There is no point.”

Button’s view was shared by his former McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, who back at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when he was speaking about his first ‘retirement’ from F1, he explained how the demands of racing meant he was left with “no friends, no family, no free time, no privacy, no wife, no kids”.

Alonso, who would return to F1 with Alpine in 2021, said at the time: “There are negative aspects of Formula 1, especially if you are 18 years here. You dedicate your entire life to Formula 1. You have no friends, no family, no free time, no privacy, no wife, no kids, no nothing. It’s just full dedication if you want to succeed.”

It was an interesting perspective, but also one shared by Magnussen, who is a father to two children.

Magnussen, whose father Jan missed a chunk of his childhood as he juggled his own racing career, told ESPN in 2022: “[Being a father] changes everything a little bit. It opened my eyes to what life is like outside of F1.

“It was also a new [feeling]… when I’m in the paddock or about to get in the car, it doesn’t feel as important somehow. Not that it’s not important to me, it’s super important, but it’s not as… scary, in a way.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team, his wife Louise Gjørup and their child

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

“Before I had a lot of fear being in F1. Fear of losing my seat, not performing, like, what’s gonna happen to me if I’m not in a Formula 1 job anymore? Because if I don’t do well today, I’m out. All of that has changed. It’s more easy, more relaxed.”

There is no fear that Verstappen is about to lose his seat at Red Bull, but his decision to have children does raise the question as to whether he is again planning for life after F1.

The four-time world champion claimed at this year’s Dutch Grand Prix that he was already past the halfway point of his F1 career.

Could his impending fatherhood be another step closer to quitting, or indeed change his approach in the same way Button mentioned?

Those close to him do not think that to be the case, and amid his current spat with George Russell it is inconceivable of Verstappen being any different to the aggressive and hard racer that he is.

Yet, as F1 reaches the end of the longest ever season, it does pose a debate as to how he will split his time.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 2nd position and 2023 drivers world champion, with Kelly Piquet in Parc Ferme after the Sprint race

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Verstappen’s father Jos did not curtail his racing career when Max was born, so it is entirely conceivable that he will look to do the same. However, with respect to Jos Verstappen, he was not defending world titles and with there now being 24 races each year, the prospect facing Max Verstappen is entirely different.

In fact, the last F1 world champion to also be a father was Nico Rosberg – and he quit F1 just days after winning the title in 2016.

Rosberg said he knew the sacrifices it required. One wonders if Verstappen would be prepared to do the same.