He has won championships and broken records, and has occasionally tested the patience of his rivals. But for one former Formula 1 driver, the story of Max Verstappen cuts a little deeper than most.
Verstappen has long since cemented his place among the sport’s greats. Still in his twenties, the Dutchman’s rise from teenage prodigy to dominant force has been as relentless as one of his opening laps. Not everyone who shared the grid with him looks back on that ascent fondly, however, and one driver in particular has rather personal reasons to feel aggrieved.
A meteoric rise that changed everything
It has been just over a decade since Verstappen made his Formula 1 debut with Toro Rosso in 2015. At the time, he was the sport’s youngest driver ever, with unmistakable talent but little experience. Within a single season, he had done enough to convince Red Bull Racing that he was ready for a promotion.
This decision would alter more than one career trajectory.
After just four races of the 2016 season, Verstappen was promoted to the senior Red Bull team. Who made way for him? Daniil Kvyat.
For Kvyat, being demoted back to Toro Rosso was a public and painful blow. For Verstappen, however, it was the beginning of a fairy tale.
A Victory That Echoed Loudly
If the driver swap was controversial, what happened next only amplified the drama. In his very first race for Red Bull, the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen seized his opportunity. After a dramatic collision between Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton eliminated the dominant Silver Arrows, the teenager found himself in the lead.
Keeping his cool, he held off Ferrari’s Kimi Räikkönen to cross the line and claim his maiden Formula 1 victory. At 18 years old, he became the youngest race winner in the sport’s history.
For Verstappen, it was destiny unfolding. As for Kvyat, watching the man who had just replaced him win immediately must have felt like salt being rubbed into an open wound.
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The personal twist
If the story had ended there, it would have been a straightforward tale of ruthless sporting decisions, painful, yes, but hardly unusual in Formula 1. However, 2016 had another twist in store.
That same year, Verstappen met Kelly Piquet, daughter of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet. At the time, she was in a relationship with Kvyat. The couple even had a daughter together.
In other words, Verstappen didn’t just take Kvyat’s seat at Red Bull; he later went on to build a life with his former rival’s partner. It’s the kind of subplot that even the scriptwriters of Formula 1’s Netflix series, Drive to Survive, might consider excessive.
“The Woman of His Life”
Years later, Kelly Piquet shared details of her first meeting with Verstappen on social media.
“I met this guy in 2016… The very next day, he told me I was the woman of his life,” she wrote. “I had no idea that ten years later, we would be celebrating our fifth anniversary and have an adorable little girl.”
She also joked about their first encounter, insisting there was ‘magic in the air’, even if it wasn’t quite a fairy-tale evening. Verstappen, she clarified, was just 19 at the time, young, confident and seemingly certain about his romantic future.
Since then, the couple have built what Piquet describes as a ‘healthy, easy relationship’, based on mutual understanding and support. They now share a daughter, adding another chapter to a partnership that began amid the turbulence of the F1 paddock.
Kvyat’s Difficult Season
For Daniil Kvyat, 2016 proved to be a defining and destabilising year. His demotion from Red Bull back to Toro Rosso damaged his standing within the Red Bull driver programme. His performances fluctuated, and the aura of inevitability that had once surrounded his career began to fade. In Formula 1, momentum is everything. Once lost, it is hard to regain.
While Verstappen surged forward, collecting wins and titles and eventually rewriting the record books, Kvyat’s Formula 1 journey became more fragmented. He had further stints on the grid, but never again in a front-running car.
The contrast between their trajectories could hardly have been sharper.
Sport, Rivalry and Reality
Of course, Formula 1 is built on ruthless decisions. Seats change hands. Careers rise and fall. Relationships evolve. No driver can rely on a team position indefinitely, and no personal story follows a neat script.
Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine many drivers experiencing such comprehensive professional and personal upheaval involving the same rival.
Verstappen’s rise was not engineered to spite Kvyat; it was driven by performance and opportunity. Yet, from Kvyat’s perspective, 2016 may feel like the year when everything changed, both on and off the track.
Meanwhile, Verstappen continues to build on his legacy, seemingly unburdened by the emotional footnotes of his early career.
In Formula 1, history remembers champions. It rarely pauses to consider who they displaced along the way.
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NEXT ARTICLE – Christian Horner reveals what message Toto Wolff sent him after his dismissal from Red Bull Racing
For years, the rivalry between Christian Horner and Toto Wolff has been one of Formula 1’s most reliable subplots. While the drivers battled it out on the track, their respective team bosses provided the drama in the paddock, sometimes subtle, often not.
So, when Horner was dismissed from Red Bull Racing shortly after last year’s British Grand Prix, many wondered whether Wolff would raise a quiet toast or send a quiet message.
As it turns out, he chose the latter.
In the latest season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, Horner reveals exactly what his long-time rival sent him in the aftermath of his exit. In true Wolff fashion, it was equal parts sharp and sincere, and just self-aware enough to be dangerous.
When ‘porpoising’ nearly caused a diplomatic incident
To understand the tone of that message, it helps to revisit one of their more combustible flashpoints.
Three years ago, amid the chaos of Formula 1’s ground-effect return, several teams were battling severe ‘porpoising’, the high-speed bouncing that turned multimillion-pound race cars into mechanical pogo sticks. Wolff, whose driver Lewis Hamilton was visibly suffering from back pain, pushed hard at a meeting of the team principals for regulatory changes.
The problem? Sympathy was in short supply.
Horner, never one to miss an opportunity for mischief, suggested the discussion might be better held away from the ever-present Netflix cameras. Wolff did not appreciate the meta-commentary. Tempers flared. Tempers flared. Subtlety left the room.
Horner eventually snapped: ‘Then adjust your bloody car!’
Wolff countered by invoking Sergio Pérez, claiming that even the Red Bull driver had complained. Horner flatly denied it. Wolff, with theatrical precision, declared: “I have it printed out.”
It was peak Drive to Survive. Shakespeare, but with data sheets…CONTINUE READING THIS ARTICLE
Sofia Trevena is a Formula 1 writer at TJ13 with an academic background in cultural studies and published research on global sport. Sofia Trevena examines Formula 1 as both a competitive discipline and a cultural phenomenon, combining scholarly perspective with journalistic analysis.
At TJ13, Sofia covers topics including the global growth of Formula 1, the sport’s cultural influence, and the historical context behind modern developments. Sofia frequently writes on Formula 1 history, drawing connections between past eras and the current competitive landscape.
Her work also explores the broader social dimensions of the sport, including media narratives, fan engagement, and the globalisation of Formula 1 as an entertainment product.
With a deep interest in the sport’s heritage, Sofia provides readers with context that extends beyond race results and headlines.
Sofia aims to highlight how Formula 1 reflects wider cultural and societal trends, offering a perspective that complements technical and news-driven reporting.
Craig.J. Alderson is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Craig oversees newsroom operations and coordinates editorial output across the site. With a background in online sports reporting and motorsport magazine editing, he plays a key role in maintaining consistency, speed, and accuracy in TJ13’s coverage.
During race weekends, Craig acts as desk lead, directing contributors, prioritising breaking stories, and ensuring timely publication across a fast-moving news cycle.
Craig’s work focuses heavily on real-time developments in the paddock, including team updates, regulatory decisions, and emerging controversies. This role requires a detailed understanding of Formula 1’s operational flow, from practice sessions through to race-day strategy and post-race fallout.
With experience managing editorial teams, Craig ensures that TJ13 delivers structured, reliable coverage while maintaining the site’s distinctive voice.
Craig has a particular interest in how information moves within the paddock environment, and how rapidly developing stories can be accurately translated into clear, accessible reporting for readers.
