RACE 2 - Max Verstappen

30

"I can't believe my mom called you," Mick complained with a slight pout on his face as he and Daniella stepped on the truck for the drivers parade. 

"She just wanted to know that you are actually okay and didn't suffer any injury," Daniella explained. 

"Still…" He whined. "You know how embarrassing it is when you are a grown up but your mom still calls you friend to check up on you? It's like she doesn't even trust me at all."

Daniella chuckled as she and Mick leaned against the railing of the truck. 

"I know how you feel," Daniella let out a laugh. "But I don't think our parents are ever going to stop worrying about us, no matter how old we get."

"Hey, how are you doing man?" Lewis joined and patted Mick's shoulder. 

"I am doing alright, but I won't be racing today," Mick replied politely, but Daniella can see the disappointment on his face. 

Mick was soon pulled away by Esteban and Lance, and Lewis and Daniella were called for a short interview. 

"What do you think about her?" Daniel asked as he pulled Max away from Charles and Pierre. 

"Who?" Max looked confused. 

Daniel pointed at the second Mercedes driver, not wanting to say her name to draw any attention. 

Max gave Daniel a confused look. 

"What is up with you?" He asked his friend. "I know you asked the same question to Dani about me."

"How… How do you know that?" Daniel stuttered. 

"She told me," Max replied in an obvious tone, as if Daniel should have already known that. 

Daniella thanked the interviewer and went back to join her friends. She noticed Max and Daniel looking at her, she shot them a look, asking what was going on. Max just pointed at Daniel and shook his head in an annoyed manner, informing Daniella that the McLaren driver was just being himself. 

***

"I know it's going to be a tough race but our strategy is good so we should be able to score some points today," Toto said to the team, trying to encourage everyone, especially the drivers. 

Daniella didn't say anything and just slightly nodded. Lewis who is starting from P15 didn't respond in any manner as he knows he has a long and tough race ahead of him and he has to give his best to score points. 

Toto sighed as he saw the worried faces of his drivers. Both are former world champions, both are competitive and neither of them prefers a result below the podium. 

"Dani still has a good chance to score a podium…" He cautiously said, trying to lift her mood. "And Lewis…"

"Save it man," Lewis said as he was getting tired of the encouraging speech. "Let's finish the race without any crash and gather as much data as we can so that we can fix the cars soon."

"That is exactly what I was going to say next," Toto said with an excited smile but no one reacted to it. "Tough crowd…" He rolled his eyes and went back to his grumpy mood. "We better get good results otherwise Horner will look down at me and the team. He won't miss the chance to…'

" Just don't look at him," Daniella suggested. "Or listen to what he says."

"Easy for you to say…"

***

As soon as the lights went out Daniella was on a mission, to finish the race in the top five. Max had already overtaken Carlos and she didn't have enough pace to fight for P4 just yet. She is well aware that it might not go well if she tries to fight a Ferrari just yet.