r/formula1 • u/fake_hester Williams • 1d ago
Social Media Max and Penelope on Christmas Eve from Kelly Piquet's Instagram
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u/RoutineSpiritual8917 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
max and penelope be something other than fucking adorable challenge
healing those generational issues
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u/West_Desert Cadillac 1d ago
Max really is winning in life. World champ with a nice family that loves him. Love to see it
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u/FengSushi Kevin Magnussen 1d ago
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u/b17b20 Robert Kubica 1d ago
Orthodox Christmas are in January
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u/kifted Mika Häkkinen 1d ago
Russian Christmas are in January. Orthodox Christmas are today
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u/cynicalterror 1d ago
Actually it’s not just Russia. I’m Serbian Orthodox and we celebrate Christmas on January 7th
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u/OneOdd1sBoi 1d ago
Some Orthodox are today, some are in 2 weeks, I think it depends on the country
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u/Suikerspin_Ei Honda RBPT 1d ago
Only Russian Orthodox, other countries with Orthodox as their main religion are celebrating Christmas today (25th of December). Ukraine is since the war also celebrating it today instead of January.
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u/RoutineSpiritual8917 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
slightly oot but I appreciate Kelly’s insistence that penelope dress like a kid (between the princess dresses and those big long purple extensions she had in at Abu dhabi) and not a mini adult like I see so many Instagram influencers do with their toddlers. if I was rich and also four I can imagine dressing similar. too many mum’s putting their kids in mini versions of their outfits
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u/Matesett 1d ago
There is also photo of her in Monaco in Unicorn costume going to restaurant with Max and Kelly
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u/Christopholies 1d ago
Definitely agree. That said, my 3yo is a battle to fit into something other than a princess outfit (mostly Elsa) some days. I love it and am here for it, but it wouldn’t surprise me if this is often the path of least resistance for Kelly. I know that’s the way it goes for us some days.
Regardless, it’s good that they allow her to express herself and don’t force her into the “mini me” aesthetic you’re referring to.
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u/I-_-I_-_I-_-I McLaren 1d ago
Don’t worry, she will get out of the Elsa phase. Chances next one is the Hello Kitty phase (where mine is now) 😂
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u/chimmychoochooo Formula 1 1d ago
100% she’s allowed to be a kid, not a prop. It’s her world and they live in it.
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u/anywayzz Ferrari 1d ago
Yup! Kelly posted about their new cat, Donut, and the name is different than a name max had talked about. Someone asked why it changed and Kelly said “Penelope had the final say” 😂 so cute!
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u/Aerian_ Christian Horner 1d ago
I think Max said they named it Donatello which Penelope turned into Donut. Which, you know, is really the best thing to do in that situation.
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u/Unicorn_Palace Charles Leclerc 21h ago
im generally not parasocial but this family’s a weakness because of stories like that tbh 🍩 🐱
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u/Aerian_ Christian Horner 15h ago
Eh, i think parasocial gets thrown about too much. Its being made a buzzword. I can get emotionally invested in a good book. Does that make me parasocial? Parasocial is just one step down from stalking. Most fans arent parasocial, just fans.
If you look at the happiness of others and it makes you happy, thats just wholesome.
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u/Letsbesensibleplease Murray Walker 1d ago edited 1d ago
This is it. Have friends who let their kid choose outfits, which led to a small child going shopping with parents wearing a Spiderman costume and wellington boots. There were a lot of "Aww"s that day.
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u/mr_Joor Pirelli Hard 1d ago
Dressing your kids up as a mini version of you is also funny tho, but on a normal days i let mine pick out his own clothes
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u/Fickle-Cricket Formula 1 1d ago
My kid dresses me like a big version of him. Got a closet full of garish hawaiian shirts because every time he finds one in his size and mine he insists that we get both.
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u/RoutineSpiritual8917 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
oh no I agree!! I meant more when parents just aren’t dressing kids their age to follow insta trends etc etc
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u/Rivendel93 Chequered Flag 1d ago
Actually a very good point, she does make an effort to let her dress like a kid, instead of what we always see with these Instagram moms.
Good for her, kids need to be kids.
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u/MehWhiteShark Fernando Alonso 15h ago
Agreed! P always looks like a normal kid, and it's refreshing
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u/Infinite_Coat3246 1d ago edited 1d ago
If I ever end up having a step daughter, this is my step daughter and step dad relationship goal!
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u/tsmitty0023 1d ago
As a stepdad, very early on you learn, there’s no such thing as a stepdad.. you’re either all in or you’re not. Max seems to maybe be better at that than being a driver, and that’s saying something.
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u/whimsical_trash Alexander Albon 1d ago
This is why my stepdad is still my stepdad even though he and my mom divorced 22 years ago lol
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u/pureblood 1d ago
My stepdad is also my stepdad despite him and my mom no longer being together! In all honesty I didn’t blame him
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u/Rivendel93 Chequered Flag 1d ago
Same, I sent mine "Merry Christmas" today and said "You weren't my step dad, you were the dad who stepped up."
He and my mom were together for 25 years and got married when I was 5, but got divorced this past year.
Just wanted him to know our first Christmas apart he was the one that raised me and was normally the one that made those 25 Christmases special.
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u/Letsbesensibleplease Murray Walker 1d ago
Depends a bit on age. I'm in my 50s and got a new stepdad last year. He's a nice enough chap and he's got over telling me what to do after we had an adult conversation about it.
But when they're younger it is different. Good on you for taking the role and best wishes to you.
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u/tsmitty0023 1d ago
Yea i misspoke a tad, and made a pretty generalized statement, I apologize. I just meant in terms of stepping into the life of a young child. You owe it to them at that age to be all in. I’ve also had step parents in my older age, and I agree with you as well, much different dynamic.
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u/Letsbesensibleplease Murray Walker 1d ago edited 1d ago
No need to apologise mate, and good on you for taking the responsibility so seriously. At a young age it's vital that the kids know they have a rock-solid support if needed - much respect.
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u/Mihnea24_03 1d ago
Damn, your mum's a baller
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u/Letsbesensibleplease Murray Walker 1d ago
To quote her "I'm in my 80s and I'm not going to keep calling him my boyfriend."
Lovely chap in his way, they both still golf every day, and more power to her say I.
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u/soaringseafoam 🏳️🌈 Love Is Love 🏳️🌈 1d ago
This should be a sweet photo but I simply don't agree with dressing young people up for photo opportunities in clothes that look good but feel uncomfortable for them. Their comfort and ease should come first...
...so Kelly should have let Max change into his white T-shirt and jeans.
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u/Lobsters4 Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
I was about to downvote you so hard until the last line. 😂😂
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u/Neatto69 1d ago
Indeed, everyone in the whole world could tell from those nearly teared up eyes, the trauma that went down before that photo:
Max was forbidden by Kelly from simracing throughout christmas eve
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u/Gaius_Octavius_ 1d ago
Max seems to really love that little girl. He always has the biggest smile around her.
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u/ZookeepergameEasy938 1d ago
honestly it’s been fantastic to watch max go from annoying kid to a confident young man with a lovely little family
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u/Work_Account89 Jordan 1d ago
Max, Penelope and Kelly all hiding from the family under the table playing Uno. Just class
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u/Freeze014 Nigel Mansell 1d ago
that is a wood paneled ceiling, you can see the heads of other people behind them :D
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u/salty_rosogolla Ferrari 1d ago
Max is such a wholesome person ❤️ I honestly don't understand the hate for him
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u/vmachiel Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
I blame the Dutch mannerisms. I’m Dutch as well and people from other countries have described me as too direct etc etc.
But I’m just Dutch!😂
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u/CapuCapu 1d ago
This! Being blunt is not the same as being direct.
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u/Koelenaam 1d ago
Yeah, but culture dictates where people draw the line between blunt and direct. The dutch just tend to draw it slightly further than most other cultures.
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u/vmachiel Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
I'm not being blunt. No one here in the Netherlands thinks I am. I'm more seen as a bit overly sensitive and careful even.
Abroad is a different story.
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u/Luddites_Unite Formula 1 1d ago
I worked on a job and one of the guys who came to commission the equipment was dutch and people were saying how mean he was. After I met him I realized he was just dutch and didn't care to sugarcoat anything. He and I got along great
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u/kirmobak Ferrari 1d ago
I absolutely love working with Dutch people. I’m English, and had a conversation with a Dutch colleague about how mad the English way of being indirect is, such as ‘would you be able to do this for me when you get a few spare minutes’ rather than the direct ‘please do this by midday’ or whatever.
I really like and appreciate the Dutch directness, and also how they try and temper their commands to not be TOO (what English would consider) blunt.
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u/kirmobak Ferrari 1d ago
Never understood it either. He seems a really lovely guy. He can be a menace behind the wheel, but what do we want in our racing drivers?
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u/vstrong50 1d ago
It's really things. 1) He's unapologetically direct, almost to a fault and 2) he's races on the very edge of the limit and sometimes over, so fans of rival drivers naturally don't appreciate that.
I truly believe if you can understand and respect those 2 things, there's really no reason to hate him. Like any great athlete (Jordan, Brady, Maradona, Tiger Woods, etc), they all have this insatiable drive to do whatever it takes to win. That's usually not a likeable quality, UNLESS, you either have that personality/attitude/drive yourself, or you understand and respect people who are like that...
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u/ocelotrevs 1d ago
He seems pretty arrogant, he's very aggressive on track, and is short with his media statements at times.
However, if I was in his shoes, being the youngest ever F1 driver, defeating the greatest driver in the sports history, I'd imagine I might have some arrogance as well.
We also don't know these people outside of a few hours a week, but fans decide what they're entire personality is like based off of this.
Also, fans hold on to things he said when he was 17 or 18 and make out that's still his viewpoints almost 10 years later
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u/PhTx3 1d ago
fans hold on to things he said when he was 17 or 18 and make out that's still his viewpoints almost 10 years later
I don't even think his age matters. Fans hold onto things said decades ago in general. People can grow and change. I get the skepticism for a rich celebrity doing it after a PR message about how so sorry they are, but they too are people. At the end of the day, if something hits close to the heart, you learn from it.
And this is besides the regular ass growing up and changing perspectives people do over the years. I hope nobody is exactly the same as they were in 2015. Regardless of how old they are.
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u/SoloPorUnBeso Ferrari 1d ago
Tom Brady and Michael Jordan were/are also considered assholes. It takes a certain person to become the GOAT at what they're doing. Hamilton isn't without fault, even if he's calmed down as he's aged.
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u/ocelotrevs 1d ago
This is a good point about aging.
People are comparing Lewis Hamilton who's in his late 30s to Max Verstappen who's in his mid 20s.
People mature as they age.
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u/Saikroe Martin Brundle 1d ago
They are playing skipbo, nice. I played this game with my grandma everyday.
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u/mumkinle Sebastian Vettel 1d ago
It’s Uno, unless Skipbo has come out with an eerily identical card design in the past year or two. They could be playing Skibo with Uno cards tho, who’s to say? We’ve done that before
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u/Rasengun911 1d ago
Growing up with a stepdad who became my role model, max does an amazing job. I still love my biological dad. But being a stepfather and a father figure for a child is an tremedous effort and just pure humanity from a man! GG Max
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u/kerstmann 1d ago
I wonder if Max can let her win with Uno. Although it's lovely to see them together
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u/AIL97 1d ago
Why the obsession with Penelope?
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u/slyfox1908 1d ago edited 1d ago
Most of the drivers aren’t dads. Just Max (stepdad and expecting) and Nico, I believe.
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u/NinjaElectricMeteor Kimi Räikkönen 1d ago
Magnussen and Perez as well, although they're out now.
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u/d_elisew 1d ago
Multiple reasons. There aren't many drivers with (step)children right now, Max is often portrayed as the "villain" of the sport and it's nice to see the contrast in his personal life, Max is the face of the sport currently so he and his life will get more attention than others (especially with a famous partner/family as well) and in general I think it's nice to see that a young guy in the public eye, who could have anyone he wants, deliberately chose to be a committed partner and great stepdad at a very young age. Lots of people grow up in broken homes and imo it's great to see an example of it all working out, and Max being proud of being a bonus dad to P.
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u/Firefox72 Ferrari 1d ago edited 1d ago
Children being funny, quirky or just bonding with someone gets a awww response from a large part of the population. Its cute seeing her and Max have such a great relationship.
As for why Penelope. Well most F1 drivers don't have Children. And those that do either have children that are to young or don't have significan't others that are as connected to F1 as Kelly is. Which means Penelope is pretty much the only child that somewhat consistenly pops up in and around the F1 paddock.
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u/Dan_Of_Time Charles Leclerc 1d ago
There was a lot of viral clips of Max streaming when she comes into the room to see him and play with him. He always reacts in really funny and happy ways which is enjoyable to see not only because its nice, but because its an amusing contrast to the "visor down" way he is during race weekends.
Happy Max is enjoyable to watch, Penelope makes him happy, everyone wins
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u/Ollie_Plimsolls Robert Kubica 1d ago
f1 redditors want Max to be their stepdad and they live vicariously through her
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u/EscortSportage McLaren 1d ago
That’s Danil’s daughter?
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u/Extension_Device6107 Formula 1 1d ago
Maybe it's my mind playing tricks on me, but I always believed Max and Kelly got together within a few months of him moving to RB. Nope, Penelope was born in 2019. She wasn't even dating Danil yet when he got demoted to Toro Rosso.
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u/almost-archaeologist Max Verstappen ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1d ago
Not his FIA gala bowtie