“Max won, and I am not talking about the race,”  – This is what a fan wrote on social media after watching the podium celebration at Suzuka, Japan. He was obviously talking about the heartwarming moment between Max Verstappen and his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet’s daughter Penelope as she called out to him, “Maxie! Maxie!” while the Dutch National Anthem played. The comment was spot on, of course, as Verstappen is not only winning on the track, but his life away from Formula 1 is just as fulfilling.

And that’s a big achievement considering how busy the life of a Formula 1 driver is these days. There’s no denying that Max and Penelope have grown closer over time. And we have been lucky to witness Penelope slowly becoming a regular presence in Verstappen’s life, whether it’s on F1 race weekends or as often seen on social media during Verstappen’s eSports livestreams for his team, Redline.

However, the podium celebration wasn’t the only time Max Verstappen and ‘P’ (as he likes to call her) interacted. There was another candid moment between them in Parc Ferme when Penelope rubbed off Verstappen’s sweat after his loving gesture.

Verstappen was cooling down after the race in Parc Ferme having won his third race of the season as he was preparing for the post-race interviews. And that’s when Penelope called out to Max. He ran to her saying, “Hi P!”, and then asked her if the race “was good?“ But when Max gave her a kiss, she wiped off the sweat with her sleeves. And when Verstappen asked, “Woah, you did like this?“ (repeating her wiping gesture) Penelope said, “Cause you are sweating,“ to which Verstappen ran off, while smiling, for his interview.

Later on, Verstappen even spoke about how it was good for him to win the Japanese Grand Prix. But interestingly, he wasn’t talking from the championship perspective.

Max Verstappen was worried about Penelope despite his win

Verstappen has so far remained unbeaten on the track. While the driver didn’t win the Australian Grand Prix because he had to retire due to an early rear brake issue, he made sure to get back to his winning ways at Suzuka. With his girlfriend Kelly and Penelope accompanying him in both Japan and Australia, perhaps the driver’s unfavorable result at Melbourne worried Penelope. Talking about the same in an interview with Viaplay, Max revealed that after the race in Australia, Penelope had asked him about his early retirement.

“She [Penelope] asked me ‘why did you retire?’ in Australia and I told her ‘the car was on fire!’“ However, it seems little Penelope was still not convinced as Verstappen heaved a sigh of relief that no such incidents unfolded at Suzuka. “I think Kelly is glad nothing happened today, otherwise, she [Penelope] might feel as if she brings bad luck,but it was beautiful to see,” he revealed.

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What a wholesome bond between the two! Do you want to see more Max Verstappen and Penelope moments in the future? Keep you eyes peeled for all the latest updates at EssentiallySports!