Will Max Verstappen be less passionate after becoming a father? Helmut Marko responds

Helmut Marko believes that Max Verstappen would perfectly balance both the duties of being a father and a Formula 1 driver.

Will Max Verstappen be less passionate after becoming a father? Helmut Marko responds

Helmut Marko and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Max Verstappen will have to embrace fatherhood mid-way through the 2025 season. The Dutchman announced his long-time girlfriend Kelly Piquet‘s pregnancy during the end of the 2024 season. Now, with the delivery date nearing, Helmut Marko shared his thoughts on Verstappen becoming less passionate about F1 after becoming a father.

Max Verstappen already wishes to spend more time with his family after becoming a father to a kid. Helmut Marko had joked about the kid being birthed with champion genes following the Dutchman’s dominant performances. Verstappen had recently highlighted that not much would change following his becoming a father.

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Marko resonated with the same thought and raised confidence in Verstappen’s abilities to juggle both responsibilities. The Austrian expects that fatherhood would not affect the 27-year-old’s F1 career. The Red Bull advisor jokingly pointed out that the reigning world champion would still run his program from home, even with a child screaming in the background.

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Don’t worry, it [fatherhood] does not affect him. He will also run his program at home, no matter if there is a child screaming!

Helmut Marko told RacingNews365.com.

Helmut Marko expects ‘much closer’ title competition than any previous years

The 2025 season will witness multiple teams and drivers contend for both championships. McLaren remains the team to beat in terms of pace followed by Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull. Milton Keynes’ performance in the pre-season test was not as expected, and uncertainty looms over Verstappen’s championship ambitions.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)
Lando Norris and Max Verstappen (via IMAGO)

Helmut Marko insisted that McLaren was still at the front followed by the rivals. The 81-year-old believes that the top four teams would contend for the title over the season. As such, Marko speculated that the competition would be much closer at the forefront than in any other previous years.

You could see that McLaren is in front, followed by us, Ferrari and Mercedes. These four teams will compete for the title. In any case, it will be much closer together than in previous years.

Helmut Marko noted

Verstappen will still try his best to contend for his fifth consecutive drivers’ title. Red Bull has the massive task of improving in performance amidst the massive personnel change. Hence, time will tell about how the Austrian constructor copes against the ever-growing pace of the rival teams.