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Max Verstappen's partner Kelly Piquet's daughter, Penelope, was recently seen calling out the Dutchman and his teammate Sergio Perez at Parc Ferme after the 2024 F1 Japanese GP.
Verstappen and Piquet started dating in 2021 after she broke up with former Red Bull driver Daniil Kvyat in 2019. Before this, Piquet and Kvyat had a daughter named Penelope in July 2019. However, Verstappen and Penelope grew closer to each other as time went by. The little one had frequently appeared in Verstappen's livestream with his eSports team, Redline.
Both the Red Bull drivers dominated the race weekend in Japan, where they qualified first and second, and finished the race in that order as well. Verstappen bounced back from a horrendous weekend in Australia, where he retired from the race due to brake failure. He won the race at Suzuka, while Checo finished in P2, around 12.5 seconds behind the Dutchman.
After the race, both Verstappen and Perez were cooling down in Parc Ferme before their post-race interviews when they heard Penelope calling for them. She first shouted for Max but then called Checo as well and waved at him. After Penelope called both Red Bull drivers, Verstappen went to talk to her.
The moment was recorded on the official live broadcast of the race and was later clipped and reposted on X by a popular F1 fan account. The account warmly stated that Perez had been promoted to Penelope's uncle.
"I just noticed later she's calling for both Max and Checo. Checo's been promoted to Uncle" the fan account wrote.
Max Verstappen happy to win the Japanese GP as it won't make his partner's daughter feel like she is bad luck
Max Verstappen recently stated that his partner, Kelly Piquet, is happy that he won in Japan since her daughter, Penelope, would otherwise think that she brings bad luck.
Speaking to Viaplay, he revealed that Penelope asked about the retirement at the Australian GP as well.
“She (Penelope) asked me ‘why did you retire?’ in Australia and I said ‘Well, the car was on fire!’ I think Kelly is glad nothing happened today, otherwise, she (Penelope) might feel as if she brings bad luck," Verstappen said.
The Red Bull star currently leads the 2024 F1 drivers' championship with 77 points, while Sergio Perez is in second place with 64 points. Both Red Bull drivers are chased by Ferrari drivers — third-placed Charles Leclerc (59 points) and fourth-placed Carlos Sainz (55 points).
