Verstappen stands up for his girlfriend Kelly Piquet: 'It's out of hand'

On the day Verstappen celebrates his 27th birthday, the Dutch driver explains why he reacts strongly when Kelly is called out for anything and everything on social media. Verstappen states that he finds it "bizarre" how far things can go so far and that there are people who bother to spread so much hate online. "That it's even going to affect her work... You know, that's pretty extreme," Verstappen told Formula 1.

Verstappen has decided to speak out against it. "I've always been someone who says ignore, ignore, ignore and don't pay any further attention to it. But at a certain point, you just can't ignore it anymore, because it really takes it to the limit how far people go."

Verstappen: 'Those people are jealous'

Verstappen might have thought: As long as you don't pay attention to it, it will stop. Meanwhile, he has come to the conclusion that a small group will always do it. Why? "It really goes a long way in how bad people can actually be. Some are, I think, generally also very jealous. It might also have something to do with that. Jealousy, envy: things like that."

This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton