Max Verstappen started his road car journey with a humble $13,000 car – a Renault Clio. Sure, it is nothing compared to the supercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie, that he owns today, but it was enough to give his father Jos a scare on the Monaco street circuit. That’s not it. The Dutchman once took his ex-girlfriend, Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, a racer herself, out for a spin too. She left her nervous as well.
The Renault Clio was a gift from Verstappen’s parents before he acquired a license to drive on the public roads. He was, however, an F1 driver by then. The future 3-time champion was dating Mikaela, a Swedish racer, back then. Currently, she is racing in the Extreme E Championship for Nico Rosberg’s team.
In an 8-year-old video uploaded on YouTube by Exact, Verstappen admits that he is not a fan of driving on public roads. But for his Clio, on a Dutch race track, he was ready to make an exception. Next, he begins the hot lap with Mikaela in the passenger seat.
While Mikaela looks uncomfortable in the seat with high G-force maneuvers, she is nowhere near as terrified as Jos was in a year older video. Towards the end of the video, Verstappen has a beaming smile on his face when Mikaela steps out of the car. Call it a coincidence or an inherent trait, but you often see the joy on F1 drivers’ faces when they leave their passengers terrified after a hot lap in a supercar.
Mikaela is 5 years older than Verstappen and the pair dated for about 9 months. They parted ways before the Dutchman moved to Red Bull from Toro Rosso in 2016. Currently, he is dating Kelly Piquet, daughter of 3-time F1 champion, Nelson Piquet.
Is Max Verstappen ready to tie the knot with Kelly Piquet?
Verstappen has mostly had girlfriends who are older than him. Piquet is no exception with a 9-year gap between the pair. They reportedly started dating in 2020 but they chose to remain tight-lipped. On January 1, 2021, both confirmed the rumors through social media posts.
In an older interview, Verstappen’s mother, Sophie Kumpen highlighted Kelly’s importance in Max’s life. She said,
“Kelly, of course, is a bit older (than Max). She has a little child. They have created some form of a little family. I think that Max maybe missed that when he was young. Such stability has also helped him as he knows someone is waiting for him at home.”
Max, in an interview last month with Blick (as reported by GP Blog), revealed his marriage plans (in that there wasn’t any). He admitted that he would pop the ring when it’s the right time. He wants the moment to be spontaneous.
Days after the interview, the couple attended Kelly’s sister’s wedding. As tradition goes, the bride threw a bouquet of flowers but Kelly failed to catch it. Verstappen, playfully had a hearty laugh and even teased his girlfriend for it.
