On Thursday afternoon, Max Verstappen's private jet, a Falcon 8X, was still in Nice, which is the closest airport to his home in Monaco. This led to questions about why the Red Bull driver had not yet travelled to Florida.

Drivers typically only miss media days for serious personal or medical reasons, and Red Bull confirmed that his absence is related to the baby’s arrival, who is the reigning champion expecting with his partner Kelly Piquet.

"Max will not be attending media day in Miami as he is expecting a baby. All is well and he will attend track tomorrow for the race weekend," says the message from the team.

"We will not be offering any further comment at this time in respect towards the privacy of Max and his family."

It has not been confirmed whether Piquet has already given birth, but everything is said to be fine in Verstappen’s camp. He is expected to be at the track on Friday in time for practice and sprint qualifying.

Verstappen and Piquet have been a couple since 2020 and announced the pregnancy last year. Their baby will be born into a proud racing family, with seven world titles between them, as Verstappen has four and Kelly’s father Nelson Piquet has three.

Max will also become only the second current Formula 1 driver on the grid to be a father. The other is Nico Hulkenberg, who has a four-year-old daughter.