Credits: IMAGO / eu-images

Brazil’s southern state of Rio Grande do Sul is reeling under devastating floods. The South American nation saw unusually heavy rainfall last week which resulted in the flooding of the southern state. As help starts pouring in from every corner of the planet, Max Verstappen has made a generous contribution as well.

As per GE.GLOBO, Verstappen gave away a signed Red Bull Racing T-shirt for an auction to Bazaar for Good. The proceeds from the auction will go for flood relief in Rio Grande do Sul.

Bazaar for Good is a collective of 30 women with a strong social media presence from different countries. The collective raises funds to support underprivileged children in different countries. Verstappen’s partner Kelly Piquet is one of the 30 members of the host committee.

Kelly, daughter of three-time F1 world champion Nelson Piquet, hails from Brazil herself. An advocate for children’s rights, she has often raised her voice against the Israel-Palestine conflict, citing atrocities faced by the young. Piquet once again made an appeal recently, this time calling for help for the flood victims in Brazil.

Through an Instagram post in Portuguese, she wrote, “At this moment, all help is important! Many families are homeless and in need of rescue due to heavy rains in Rio Grande do Sul. There are a lot of people making a difference and you can too.”

More F1 personalities besides Max Verstappen join the rescue effort

Another F1 personality to join the rescue efforts for floods in Brazil is model Francisca ‘Kika’ Cerqueira Gomes. Kika, who is dating Alpine F1 team’s driver Pierre Gasly, shared a video released by renowned supermodel and Tom Brady’s ex-wife Gisele Bundchen. Gisele made an appeal for donations towards the relief operations carried out in the affected area.

Bundchen said, “My home state in Rio Grande do Sul, south in Brazil, has had its worst tragedy in its history. Heavy rains flooded entire towns in most parts of the state. It’s not just one city, it’s more than 350 cities affected. People are not only losing their houses, their jobs, they’re losing everything and there are many still to be rescued.”

The Brazilian model shared devastating visuals from ground zero while making an emotional appeal. She also shared snippets of rescue operations but urged her followers to contribute more to help the locals affected.

Brazil is one of the most iconic places where Formula 1 races year after year. The country also has a special connection to the sport through Lewis Hamilton, who got honorary citizenship just two years ago.

While the seven-time world champion is expected to make an appeal soon, many other F1 drivers can join him too. A similar effort was seen in 2023 when Italy went through devastating floods resulting in F1 calling off the Imola race.