Max Verstappen's New Kid Got Him Out Of The Miami Grand Prix Media Day

The format of a Formula 1 weekend is usually pretty standard, with drivers on hand Thursday ahead of a race for media day.

Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, there was one big absence: Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

However, the four-time reigning champion had a pretty good excuse.

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Verstappen is away from the track because his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet — the daughter of former F1 champ Nelson Piquet — is expecting the couple's first child.

Piquet has another child with ex-F1 driver Daniil Kvyat — Verstappen's former teammate — but this child is Verstappen's first, and people have already noted one way that the kid is already living up to its last name.

It's no secret that Max isn't a fan of his media obligations. Sure, that comes with the territory, but the Dutchman would much rather leave the talking to others while he simply hops in the cockpit and drives.

So, Baby Verstappen getting an assist right off the bat by getting his/her old man out of media day is just too perfect.

Once Verstappen gets to the track for the race weekend, he'll have his work cut out for him.

Red Bull needs a strong week after they left points on the table thanks to an opening lap crash by Verstappen's teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. The car has struggled at times this season, they'll only have limited time to get dialed in in Miami before Sprint Qualifying on Friday afternoon.

As it stands, Verstappen is P3 in the drivers standings with 87 points, and trails both McLaren drivers with Lando Norris (89 points) in P2 and Oscar Piastri (99 points) leading the championship.

In the constructors standings, Red Bull is P3 with 89 points (yes, Verstappen has done all their scoring this season; he needs some help), behind Mercedes is in P2 with 111.

Meanwhile, McLaren is running away with the title with 188 points.