Verstappen rejects ‘silly’ baby claims

Verstappen was not in Miami in Thursday as he remained alongside partner Kelly Piquet and new arrival, daughter Lily.

The four-time world champion is now one of only two fathers on the grid, alongside Nico Hulkenberg.

“It’s been good to be able to spend a few days at home before coming here,” Verstappen said of his build-up to Miami.

“When she’s just been born, you want to make sure everything is okay.

“Clearly, it didn’t make me slower being a dad, so that’s a positive, so we can throw that out of the window as well, for people mentioning it.

“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.”

 

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It has long been claimed that fatherhood sees a driver lose their edge as family considerations enter the decision-making process on track.

“I don’t really listen to these kinds of silly things, I just do my thing,” said Verstappen, rejecting the concept.

“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.”

Verstappen’s pole in Miami again came against the tide with McLaren looking unbeatable for the front row even in Qualifying 2.

However, the Dutchman was able to find more pace in the final segment with neither Lando Norris nor Oscar Piastri able to match him.

Verstappen has now recorded three pole positions in the last four races in a car widely regarded as inferior to the McLaren.

“It’s just been really tricky to get the tyres in the right window over a whole lap,” he said of his qualifying effort, which saw a moment at Turn 1 on his final Qualifying 3 lap.

“Of course, you never want to have a little oversteer moment on entry but over the whole lap, I did feel a bit more comfortable.

“Very happy to be on pole. I think every qualifying, like Q1, Q2, Q3, just kept chipping away at it, just kept on improving a little bit.

“That’s exactly what you would want.”

Verstappen will line up on pole for the Miami Grand Prix alongside Lando Norris, with the race set to get underway at 16:00 local time on Sunday (06:00 AEST Monday).

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