Verstappen happy for Penelope: 'Soon Kelly will think she's bad luck!'

After Max Verstappen's dominant victory in the Japanese Grand Prix, the Dutchman was loudly cheered on the podium by Penelope, Kelly Piquet's little daughter. He talks about why he is extra happy that nothing happened today after Penelope witnessed his failure in Melbourne.

Verstappen happy that race went well - for Penelope

At the Australian Grand Prix, there was some nice footage of Penelope, who stood by Verstappen's Formula 1 car in Red Bull Racing's garage before the race. However, that race ended after just a few laps as the RB20's rear brake caught fire, resulting in a retirement.

After his win at Suzuka, Verstappen explains why he is extra happy that everything went right this time. "They asked me why I had dropped out," Verstappen said at Viaplay about his DNF in Australia. "I said: the car was on fire! I think Kelly is happy that nothing happened today, otherwise she might think it doesn't bring luck. But it was nice to see," he says of Penelope's support.