Max Verstappen was undeniably the most successful driver of the year 2021, thanks to his first-ever world championship victory that came along after garnering 10 race wins over the season. Hence, the Dutchman marched into the winter break with a rather wide smile on his face.

And of course, the celebrations weren’t over just yet, as the Red Bull driver then headed off for Christmas and New Year celebrations with his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, her daughter, Penelope Kvyat, and others of the Piquet family.

Max Verstappen gifts F1 car to Piquet

The time had arrived for the family to unwrap their gifts on the eve of Christmas and Rodrigo Piquet received an incredible present from the Formula One world champion.

The Brazilian karter opened up his gift and what he found inside the box was a model of Verstappen’s championship-winning F1 car, Red Bull Racing RB16B. Consequently, Rodrigo just couldn’t mask his excitement as he pumped his fist onto his own chest, showing his respect for Verstappen.

Penelope, meanwhile, tried her best to get her hands on the model F1 car. But, it was a risk better not taken, as Rodrigo managed to keep her away from it. There were also cheers all around as Rodrigo showed off his gift.

He even took to Instagram to reveal a picture of himself posing alongside Verstappen with the model F1 car in his hand and further captioned it, “Simply the best.”

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Can Verstappen score another F1 title in 2022?

Much like the 2021 season, Verstappen and his rival, Lewis Hamilton, will most likely remain the leading title contenders heading into 2022. And even Red Bull’s advisor, Dr. Helmut Marko, acknowledged the same during an interview late last year.

However, there is one other factor to consider as we march into the season; how big of a change are we set to witness amidst the forthcoming regulation changes?

The viewers are awaiting a new Formula One era on the whole. Hence, it wouldn’t be a surprise if mid-field teams like McLaren and Ferrari find themselves just a tenths-of-a-second away from Red Bull and Mercedes. Overall, an ‘all to play for’ campaign ahead as most of the teams are likely to push developments to the absolute limit.

So, will this soon-to-arrive makeover hinder Verstappen’s chances of lifting a second consecutive title? Only time will tell.

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