Verstappen on Lambiase's new pet: 'At least one Max listens to him'

Team Redline's livestreams give fans an entertaining insight into Max Verstappen's life outside of Formula One. The Dutch driver made an appearance in the latest Twitch stream, where he shared an interesting story about his relationship with his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

During his sim racing team's livestream, Verstappen spoke about Lambiase's pet. "GP got a dog and he called him Max," the Red Bull Racing driver shared. Verstappen's discussions with his race engineer over the team radio during races are often widely spoken about. The Dutch driver joked about this, "I told him, ‘At least you’ve got one Max that listens to you!’"

The four-time world champion also spoke about the pets he shares with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet and her daughter Penelope. There were already two cats running around the Verstappen household, a brother and sister named Jimmy and Sassy. Last year they welcomed a cat called Donatello, short for 'Donut', and in early 2025, they were also joined by a dog, a dachshund named Nino.

Not only do the cats get along, but the recent additions of a kitten and a puppy who have recently joined the household are also living together well. "They’re good with each other, even with the dog. Nino and Donut, they play a lot actually," Verstappen said.

In an earlier interview with Sky Sports, Lambiase jokingly shared that he was somewhat disappointed that Verstappen had not named his new cat after him. The Dutch driver had presented the idea to Penelope, who vetoed the name. "She really did not want to call a cat GP, so we had to go for a different name." Verstappen explained.

This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder.