Kelly Piquet reacts as Max Verstappen wins the F1 Belgian GP sprint

Max Verstappen's girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, reacted to the driver's Sprint victory at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday by resharing F1's Instagram post via her Instagram story. Verstappen survived a 15-lap-long challenge from Oscar Piastri to come home to take his first sprint win of 2025.

Max Verstappen split the invincible-looking McLarens in qualifying for the sprint race to start second for the 15-lap race on Saturday. The Dutchman's plan at the start of the race worked perfectly as he tucked in behind Oscar Piastri and pounced with the help of the slipstream on the Kemmel straight.

After overtaking Piastri at the following chicane, Verstappen kept the Aussie driver at an arm's length for the entirety of the sprint to come home victorious. Piastri's teammate Lando Norris finished just behind in P3.

After the race, Verstappen's girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, reacted to the reigning world champion's first sprint win of the year via her Instagram story.

Screen grab via Kelly Piquet's Instagram story [via Instagram/@kellypiquet]

Piquet and Verstappen had their first child together in May this year, a baby girl named Lily. The Brazilian model hasn't been spotted at a race track yet this year, with her last appearance coming at the 2024 Qatar Grand Prix.

She will again be watching from home as Verstappen goes into qualifying for the main race on Saturday with all the momentum behind him from the Sprint victory. The 4x world champion admitted that he doesn't expect to be on pole given McLaren's pace, but could well be in and around the top spots yet again.

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Max Verstappen reflects on the struggles of going up against the McLarens

Max Verstappen after the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint - Source: Getty

Max Verstappen claimed that it is extremely difficult to keep the incredibly quick McLarens behind him during the Belgian GP Sprint. The Red Bull man added that he basically had to do "15 qualifying laps" to keep Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in his rear view mirror for the entirety of the race.

Speaking right after the race, Verstappen shared why he was struggling with his brakes and tires during the Sprint race at Spa on Saturday.

"Well, it's basically, you're keeping faster cars behind. So you have to drive over the limit of what you think is possible. Tire management is out of the window. That is what's making it really difficult," said Verstappen. "I'm just doing 15 qualifying laps to try and keep them behind on a track where tire management is important. It wasn't easy but we managed to do it so, I'm very happy with that," he added.

With his win on Saturday, Max Verstappen has now made it 12 sprint wins in F1. This is more than any other driver in the sport, with the next best record belonging jointly to Valtteri Bottas, Oscar Piastri, and Lando Norris, who have only 2 wins each.

Edited by Mitali