Kelly Piquet impressed by Verstappen, watches her partner excel on the TV

Max Verstappen endured a tough weekend at the Red Bull Ring. After a frustrating qualifying session, where a poorly timed yellow flag saw him end up only seventh on the grid, his race was over almost as soon as it began, as he was forced off the track on the opening lap due to an error from Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Initially, the British Grand Prix weekend didn’t look promising for Max Verstappen. On Friday, the Dutchman struggled to keep pace with the front-runners. But, as so often happens, Red Bull Racing turned things around by Saturday. In particular, Verstappen and his RB21 came alive during the final phase of qualifying.

The result was an unexpected pole position for the Dutchman. His girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, proudly shared a moment on her Instagram story shortly after qualifying. She recorded a video of herself watching on TV, featuring the caption ‘pole #44’.

Indeed, it was a reference to Verstappen’s 44th career pole position, bringing him level with Sebastian Vettel.

The last time Verstappen secured pole position was in Miami, but he didn’t convert it into a win and eventually finished fourth. This time around, the Dutchman will be hoping for a much stronger result at Silverstone.

The British Grand Prix kicks off at 3PM BST. Both McLaren drivers will line up behind Max Verstappen, with championship leader Oscar Piastri in second and Brit Lando Norris in third. Lewis Hamilton was left gutted with fifth place, as his Ferrari looked in the running for pole throughout the weekend.

Make sure to stay with us on GPblog for all the updates from what is set to be an incredibly exciting race!