Watch: Kelly Piquet's daughter Penelope Kvyat cheering on Lando Norris during the podium ceremony in the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's girlfriend Kelly Piquet's daughter Penelope Kvyat was seen cheering for McLaren driver Lando Norris during the podium ceremony at the recently concluded Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last weekend. The British driver closed off a successful season for himself and the Woking-based outfit. He finished a career-best P2 while leading McLaren to the first constructor's championships since 1998.
Heading into the Yas Marina Circuit, the iconic British team had a 21-point advantage over Ferrari and just needed one car to finish ahead of the two Ferrari drivers.
They were able to claim it after the 25-year-old drove home to print his fourth victory of the season while his teammate Oscar Piastri finished P10 after an opening lap clash with Max Verstappen.
In a video shared on social media, Norris was seen cheered on by Kelly Piquet's daughter Penelope Kvyat, whilst he was making his way to the podium. She was audibly heard saying:
"Lando...."
The five-year-old shares a sweet dynamic with the British driver and has often been spotted giving the latter warm embraces in the F1 paddock. The McLaren driver, despite his on-track battles with Verstappen, remains good friends with the four-time F1 world champion and hangs out with him frequently in Monaco and at several parties.
Lando Norris gives his take on his mindset for the 2025 season
McLaren driver Lando Norris stated that he was "happy" to go into the 2025 season knowing that he could challenge for the world championship after coming out second to Max Verstappen in 2024.
Speaking in his post-race press conference in Abu Dhabi, the four-time race winner said:
"I've certainly not come out on top as often as I would have liked in certain moments as a driver, you know, especially in my fights against Max. As much as it hurts sometimes, I'm probably happy about it now that I'm going to go into next season knowing that I can fight. And I know myself, and I know more and better than anyone what I need to improve on, where I'm not strong enough, where I'm strong enough.
"On the whole, next year is hopefully a year where I can go in and decide before the first race we're going to fight for a championship. We've not ever thought of that. We've not even had the feeling of it from a team perspective and also for me as a driver. So hopefully the next year is that year."
Lando Norris finished 63 points behind Max Verstappen in the driver's championship and was only the second driver after the Dutchman to win four races, with Charles Leclerc winning three in 2024.