Kelly Piquet drops 4-word reaction to Max Verstappen's pitlane to podium drive in the F1 Brazilian GP

Max Verstappen started the Brazilian GP from the pit lane, but at the end of the 71 laps, he was in P3 and rounded out the rostrum for the post-race celebrations. Subsequently, with the reigning champion bringing home a stellar result at his partner, Kelly Piquet's home race, she shared a four-word reaction to the Red Bull driver claiming third after a chaotic race.

Verstappen was knocked out in Q1 during qualifying and looked set to start 16th for the race. However, Red Bull decided to gamble and broke the parc ferme rules to make several changes to his RB21 to aid him during the Grand Prix.

These changes ultimately paid dividends as he went from starting in the pit lane and a fair way behind the rest of the grid to P13 in the initial laps. Though he suffered a puncture mid-way through the race, even this concern was put to rest by the Milton Keynes-based squad, who changed the tires and sent him back out on track.

Verstappen then put in some stellar lap times and made crucial overtakes to clinch P3 away from George Russell in the final stage of the race. With Piquet being at Verstappen's side in Interlagos, she saw her partner drive in front of the P3 board herself and was glaring with joy, as she captioned her Instagram story:

From Pitlane to P3🔥🔥🔥"

Kelly Piquet's Instagram story about Max Verstappen's podium result at the 2025 Brazilian GP | Source: Instagram/@kellypiquet

Max Verstappen's P3 finish helped him reduce his deficit to Oscar Piastri in the drivers' standings by a further five points.

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Max Verstappen praises Red Bull for turning around its fortunes overnight

Red Bull's Max Verstappen joins the podium after finishing P3 at the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil - Source: Getty

The Red Bull RB21 had been throwing tantrums at Max Verstappen since the start of the Brazilian GP weekend. While he was able to get inside SQ3 and finished fourth in the sprint race, things got tough as the qualifying for the Grand Prix rolled around.

With his elimination in Q1, the Austrian giant had to do something to change Verstappen's fortunes on raceday, which they were able to achieve. After taking the gamble of starting from the pit lane in exchange for breaking parc ferme, the Dutchman drove home to an impressive P3 result.

Reflecting on the work put in by the team, he told Sky Sports F1:

"This weekend has been difficult for us, but the team never gives up. we always want to be better: we don’t settle for second. Otherwise you can easily say after the sprint, “let’s not touch the car, we’re not too bad, let’s not risk it,” but that’s not the mentality of the team."

Verstappen now has a 49-point deficit to Lando Norris in the drivers' standings.

Edited by Geetansh Pasricha