Kelly Piquet puts on a leggy display in a hot pink minidress as she heads to pre-Met Gala events

Kelly Piquet turned New York City’s sidewalks into her own runway when she stepped out Thursday night.

The Brazilian model, 34, put on a leggy display in a hot pink ruffled Bardot minidress as she lifted her enviable body with black lace-up shoes.

The Vogue NL cover girl left the posh ModernHaus SoHo hotel and headed to a number of pre-Met Gala events ahead of Monday’s biggest fashion night.

She lugged her essentials around in a heart-shaped handbag and flawlessly applied a full face of makeup to accentuate her natural beauty.

Earlier in the day, the girlfriend of F1 world champion Max Verstappen sparkled in a softly fitted black and white paneled maxi dress by Karen Millen.

Kelly was born in Homburg, Germany, but spent most of her younger years in France with Dutch model mother Sylvia Tamsma and former F1 driver Nelson Piquet.

She has been with Formula E since 2015, when she became responsible for social media coverage.

Kelly started dating Russian F1 driver Daniil Kvyat, with whom she shares daughter Penelope, born in July 2019.

That same December, their relationship broke down and they went their separate ways.

The following January, she and Max Verstappen made their relationship public and have been publicly displaying affection ever since.

On Valentine’s Day last month, Kelly posted an affectionate photo of the two kissing on a gondola in Monaco and captioned the photo with a love heart and cupid’s bow in it.

Max could leave F1 when his Red Bull deal expires in 2028, as he says ‘there is always a limit to certain things’ following his criticism of the increased number of sprint races.

The 25-year-old driver leads Mexican team-mate Sergio Perez in the championship after winning two of three races in 2023 and could claim a third title.

This weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix is ​​the first of six sprint races in the 23-lap season – it would have been 24 had the Chinese Grand Prix not been cancelled.

Saturday’s 100km sprint is now a stand-alone event with its own qualification and separate from Sunday’s main race.

The two-time world champion is not a big fan of sprinting and thought hard on Thursday when reporters in Baku asked him about the new setup and expanding schedule.

“If we keep expanding the calendar and the whole weekend is that long, then at some point you wonder “is it worth it?”, said the Dutch driver.

“I like to race, I like to win. I know of course the salary and everything, you have a good life, but is it really a good life?

“I think sometimes you get to a point in your career where you might want to do other things.

“I know I have a contract until the end of 2028 and then we’ll look at it again. But I do have the feeling that if it gets too much at a certain point, it’s time for a change.’

Max accepted that it might seem strange to outsiders, but he was not interested in matching or beating Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton’s record seven titles.

“I want to do other things, other competitions. A bit like Fernando (Alonso) did,” he said.

Fernando, a two-time F1 World Champion, is also a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and has competed in the Indianapolis 500.

The Spaniard, now 41, is chasing his fourth consecutive podium with Aston Martin in Baku this weekend.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is ​​the first of six F1 events this season to feature a sprint race, with a new twist.

There is a second qualifying session as part of rule changes to discourage teams and drivers from playing it safe, and practice time has been reduced to a single session.

“Especially with the shake-up of the whole format of the weekend, it’s probably the most exciting weekend so far this year and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays out,” said seven-time champion Hamilton.

“I think it will be difficult for everyone, but we are all in this together. What a circuit to be able to do it, where overtaking is possible. Great racing here.’

F1 has been on a hiatus since its last race in Australia on April 2, due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, and several teams have brought upgraded cars to Azerbaijan.

Whether any of these will be enough to challenge Red Bull’s early dominance remains to be seen.

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner reportedly called Baku’s street circuit a “ridiculous” choice for a sprint venue last month, even before the new rules were announced.

Sergio also questioned Baku’s choice on Thursday, saying sprints should be used to spice up duller circuits.

“We probably need to be more selective with the races where we need to improve things,” said Sergio.

After the initial novelty when the new, shorter races debuted in F1 in 2021, some drivers and teams seemed risk averse in the events.