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Who is Kelly Piquet?
Kelly Piquet, a model, blogger, columnist and public relations executive, is perhaps best known for her glamorous fashion career, but she is also part of the Formula E social media team (ABB FIA Formula E World Championship). an international motorsport championship for single-seat electric cars.
Kelly came into the limelight as the girlfriend of Formula 1 world champion driver Max Verstappen, however, her connection to Formula 1 goes way back even to her birth. Fascinated? Keep reading and you’ll find out what we mean.
Early life, family and education
Her birth name is Kelly Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior, and she was born under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius on December 7, 1988, which makes her 34 years old as of March 2023). Kelly is the eldest daughter of Nelson Piquet, a famous Formula 1 world champion from Brazil, and his wife Sylvia Tamsma, a former Dutch model. Although Kelly was born in Homburg, Germany, she spent most of her early days in France with her mother, after her parents divorced.
she moved to Brazil at the age of 12, and Kelly lived there with her father and brother for three years before returning to her mother’s home in France. After a year, Kelly moved to England to study, but at the age of 17 she returned to Brazil, where she completed her secondary education.
After her matriculation exam in 2006, Kelly moved to the US and enrolled at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, graduating in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations, political science, and economics.
Career
Kelly became interested in fashion during her college days and did an internship in the area. Kelly worked for Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store, was also a stylist coordinator for Vogue Latinoamerica and a columnist for Marie Claire Magazine. She also worked at KCD PR Agency, the largest fashion PR agency in the world.
Kelly modeled for Lucas Boccalao and PatBO and was often seen on the catwalk alongside other fashion models. She started working for Formula E in 2015 and is now responsible for social media coverage.
Relationship with Max Verstappen
Kelly and her current partner Max Verstappen started dating in October 2020, but their relationship went public in January 2021. They had known each other since 2016 when they met in Monacoi – Kelly’s brother, Nelson Junior, who is also a racing driver. , she suggested; at the time, Max was only 19 years old, while Kelly was in her early thirties.
Kelly was in a relationship with Russian Formula 1 driver Daniil Kyvat from 2017 to 2019 and they have a daughter together, Penelope, who was born in July 2019. The two separated a few months after her birth in December of that same year.
Kelly and Max started dating soon after, but initially they kept their relationship a secret. On New Year’s Day in 2021, Max posted a photo of himself and Kelly with the caption that he had found his love and happiness. After their love story became public, Kelly was seen by his side at every championship race Max entered.
In 2022, Kelly opened up about her romance with Max, saying she thinks their relationship is healthy and full of love, support and understanding. Kelly added that she appreciates how Max treats her daughter Penelope. As she put it, the age difference is not a problem for them.
As of March 2023, the couple is still together, and most recently on Valentine’s Day, they headed back to Monaco where they first met to celebrate their love. Kelly shared a photo of the two cuddling, and Max responded with three red heart emojis.
Max Verstappen – short bio
Born as Max Emilian Verstappen under the zodiac sign Libra on September 30, 1997, he is 25 years old today. He was born in Hasselt, Belgium, but has the Dutch nationality and competes under the Dutch flag. Although born and raised in Belgium, Max stated that he feels more Dutch as he spent most of his childhood surrounded by Dutch people in Maaseik, a small Belgian town on the Dutch border – he said he only slept in Belgium and spent the whole day in the Netherlands.
Max is the son of former Dutch Formula 1 driver Joe Verstappen and former Belgian karting driver Sophie Kumpen. The two separated when Max was young, and he lived with his father, while Max’s sister, Victoria, lived with their mother. Max and Victoria have three paternal half-siblings, as he remarried twice.
Max started his racing career by competing in the Mini Junior championship and won the Belgian championship in 2006 and the Dutch Minimax championship the following year. In 2010 he moved into international kart racing and finished second in KF3, a kart racing class for top drivers aged 11 to 15.
As a race car driver, Max debuted in the non-championship Florida Winter Series, held in the USA in January 2014, finishing first at Palm Beach International Raceway on its second weekend of racing. A few weeks later he won the Homestead-Miami Speedway race – by the age of 16, Max had a record ten wins in total.
Very happy with my Quali and to be on Pole here in Melbourne!
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s race @redbullracing 💪 pic.twitter.com/1NeVSsLwbd
— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) April 1, 2023
In 2014, at the age of 17, Max was the youngest person in history to compete in a Formula 1 race, replacing Jean-Eric Vergne during the first practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team in August 2014.
The following year, Max became the youngest driver to start a World Championship race and made his Grand Prix debut as a full-time driver at the Australian Grand Prix held in Melbourne in March 2015. At the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Max became the youngest driver ever to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix, at the age of 18. In 2021 Max won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and then won the Formula 1 World Championships for Red Bull Racing in 2021 and 2022. He will remain with Red Bull until the 2028 season after signing a contract extension.
When it comes to his personal life, before he started dating Kelly Piquet, Max was in a long-term relationship with Dilara Sanlik from 2017 to 2020, and she even met his family and spent a Christmas with them. In addition to Dilara, Max met Instagram models Roos Van Der Aa and Joyce Godefridi. He also dated race car drivers Saber Cook and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinksy.
If you have been wondering how rich the two-time Formula 1 champion is, according to sources as of March 2023, Max has an estimated net worth of over $200 million.
