F1 2026: Kelly Piquet tells all about the very first time she met Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen and Kelly Piquet share a kiss at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

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Kelly Piquet tells all about the very first time she met Max Verstappen

Kelly Piquet reflected on her first meeting with Max Verstappen

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Saturday 24 January 2026 22:42

Kelly Piquet shared the details of how she first met F1 champion and partner Max Verstappen via her social media.

The couple became official in 2020, and have since welcomed their first child together in 2025, Lily.

For her most recent Instagram post, Piquet jumped on the 2016 trend where she shared a look back at what she was up to a decade ago.

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On her carousel, Piquet included a picture of her with champion Niki Lauda, her work producing Formula E's social media coverage and her globetrotting travels.

Then, on the last slide, there was a nod to her future partner and how she first met Verstappen.

Piquet's Verstappen admission

Piquet posted a picture of a 19-year-old Verstappen and herself taking a selfie in 2016, and explained their meeting in a caption placed on the picture.

"Met this guy...the very next day he told me I was the love his life. Little did I know 10 years later we'd be celebrating five years together and have a perfect baby girl," she wrote.

"P.S. I absolutely did not have a magical night that night, but there was serendipity in the air."

One fan wrote in the comments: "I need more information what do you mean you didn't have a magical night that night?"

Piquet then addressed fan speculation in the comments, and confirmed: "No, I gave an interview that was written in Dutch. I said there was magic in the air and people translated it back to English to magical night."

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A post shared by KELLY PIQUET (@kellypiquet)

Written by

Sheona Mountford - F1 Journalist

Sheona Mountford is a motorsport journalist specialising in F1. As a writer and contributor, she covers a wide range of motorsport series from F1 to F1 Academy, responsible for breaking news, live race coverage and in depth analysis of the sport and the culture around it.

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Max Verstappen Kelly Piquet