Rivals hoping that baby Lily’s arrival would slow down new father Max Verstappen were given short shift as he beat Lando Norris to pole position for the Miami Grand Prix.

Just days after announcing the birth of his daughter, Verstappen was on track at the Miami Autodrome where his weekend began with a blip as a penalty for an unsafe release in the Sprint cost him a points finish.

Fatherhood will not slow Max Verstappen

Verstappen had been fighting for a podium result in the 19-lap Sprint when Red Bull released him into the path of Kimi Antonelli as the drivers came in to swap their intermediates for slick Pirelli rubber.

Verstappen not only lost a piece of his front wing in the crash, but he was given a 10-second penalty that dropped him to 17th in the official classifications.

But just a few hours later, he was back on track for qualifying for the Grand Prix where he silenced anyone suggesting the birth of his daughter may slow the four-time World Champion.

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Norris joked that he hoped that would be the case.

“Congrats to Max, especially being a dad now. I was hoping it would slow him down!” Norris joked after losing out on pole position by 0.065s.

“I’m happy with today, happy with the progress I’ve made with the car. Max did a Max lap once again and I can’t fault him.”

But, alas for the Briton and Verstappen’s other rivals, fatherhood has not changed his approach nor hampered his speed.

“I don’t really listen to these kind of silly things,” he said. “I just do my thing.

“I think there are enough racing drivers in the past that have been World Champion even after having kids, you know. So honestly, I don’t even know where that comes from.”

While Verstappen is one of two dads on today’s grid, the other being Nico Hulkenberg, in yesteryear, the likes of Michael Schumacher and Lily’s grandfather Nelson Piquet all won World titles as fathers.

Sebastian Vettel was also a father when he was fighting for the titles with Ferrari.

“It’s been good to be able to spend a few days at home before coming here,” Verstappen added. “You know, when she’s just born, you want to make sure everything is okay.

“Clearly, it didn’t make me slower as well, being a dad. So that’s a positive. We can throw that out of the window as well, for people mentioning it. And yeah, when I was here, honestly, just quite fluent.

“Anyway, I’m in contact a lot with my girlfriend anyway, throughout the day. You know, getting pictures and FaceTime a bit here and there. It’s always there, you know. But now, one more member in the family.”

Verstappen will line up on the Miami grid third in the Drivers’ Championship where he trails Oscar Piastri by 14 points with Norris also five ahead of him.

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