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GF Kelly Piquet Rates Max Verstappen’s Performance as Record-Breaking Streak Meets Sad End

Published 09/18/2023, 6:30 AM EDT

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The 2022 Abu Dhabi GP to the 2023 Italian GP. These 15 races are now a part of Formula 1 history forever. These 15 races officially gave Red Bull bragging rights over this new era of F1. The team from Austria became the first in history to win 15 races in a row. In 10 of those 15 races—a Miami to Monza streak—Max Verstappen was the only driver who had the privilege of standing on the top step of the podium. 10 wins in a row. The first time ever. As much as the Dutchman would’ve liked to continue that streak, it ended last night at the Singapore GP. The silver lining: He didn’t have to endure the pain alone.

Verstappen has been in a relationship with Brazilian model Kelly Piquet since the end of 2020. In these three years, Piquet has been there for every significant moment in his F1 career—happy or sad. The Singapore GP—which felt like the end of an era but really wasn’t—was no different. And she expressed her support for her man.

Max Verstappen earned high praise from Kelly Piquet

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Coming into the Singapore GP, Red Bull knew it would be a tough weekend. This was the test for the team. Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko even said that if the team could get the win in Singapore, they could win every race this season. But that 15-race-winning streak and Verstappen’s 10 proved tougher to defend than they expected. Even so, Verstappen didn’t go down without a fight.

After qualifying in P11, he started on Hard tires and made his way up to P7 after a stop for Medium tires. On Lap 58 of 62, he overtook Pierre Gasly to take P6—18 seconds behind Charles Leclerc in P5. Despite struggling to get a handle on the RB19 all weekend, Verstappen proved his class. In 5 laps, he made up 18 seconds to finish just two-tents behind Leclerc. Owing to George Russell’s crash, the Dutchman—even on the most challenging weekend of the year for Red Bull—managed a P5. 

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Read More: GF Kelly Piquet Drops 1 Word Comment to Gush Over Max Verstappen’s “10/10” Record-Breaking Win
After his Italian GP record, Verstappen wrote on Instagram, “A 10/10 performance today, @redbullracing 🏆To win 10 races in a row and 15 consecutive races as a team is unbelievable! 💪” Following the Singapore GP, where his and Red Bull’s streak broke, he wrote, “A tough weekend in Singapore, but a solid recovery during the race today @redbullracing 👊 Onto Suzuka 🇯🇵👋” Paying tribute to his 10-race winning streak and his mega drive in Marina Bay, Piquet wrote, 10/10 ❤️” There’s no doubt Verstappen would’ve loved to continue his streak—making it an 11/11. But even before the race started, he knew he was on the losing side.

Verstappen wasn’t optimistic about his chances after Saturday

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The RB19 is the fastest car on the grid. There’s no doubt about that. While he knew this weekend would be tough for him, he believed he could still have a chance if he had a good starting position. But AlphaTauri super-sub Liam Lawson ruined those chances in qualifying. Verstappen’s final flying lap in Q2 was only good enough for P10. Lawson put in the lap of his life and pushed the reigning champ out of qualifying. 

Lining up on the grid in P11, Verstappen had already accepted defeat. In an interview with Autosport, he said, “You can forget about [continuing the winning streak]. On other tracks, you can start last, I mean, probably in Spa, you can start last and win the race, but not here. Here, you need to be two or three seconds faster to have a chance to pass. And so that’s just street circuit stuff.” He added, “I knew that there was a day that you’re not winning anymore. But also, we had a really good run anyway, up until now.”

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Watch This Story: Helmut Marko’s Frightening Reality Slap: Lewis Hamilton Downplays Max Verstappen’s Dominance!

Were you sad to see Max Verstappen and Red Bull’s streak break?

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Written by:

Aditi Krishnan

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One take at a time

Aditi is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports and is essentially a sportsperson. She fell in love with F1 in 2020. It happened when her brother tuned into that first race weekend in Austria, and she knew right then and there that she had to learn everything she could about the sport.
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Edited by:

Akash Pandhare