The Lion and The Bull - Max Verstappen

Chapter 23 - Cool Down

"You got this Max," Cecilia whispered in his ear as they embraced before the race. He didn't say anything but squeezed her tighter then let her go and slipped his helmet on. She knew he wasn't much for words right before the race but she still liked to reassure him with her words even if she didn't get a response half of the time.

She hurried over to her dad as the team wheeled Max out to the grid and began to scan the screens that her dad was looking at. One screen was of the weather, one of the fuel, and one of the wear and air pressure of the tyres.

The cars were all lined up and the lights went out at the Brazilian Grand Prix. The starting lineup was Lewis, Fernando, Pierre, Charles, and then Max. Max had a great start and pushed up to P3 after the first corner. The rest of the first lap was back and forth until Lewis, Charles, and Max were battling in front of the rest of the pack. The race for the podium continued between the three of them until Charles spun out on lap 58/71. The fight for pole position was now between Louis and Max. On lap 67, Max passed Louis and began to create a sizable gap between them until Esteban Ocon was in front of him, about to be lapped. Max made a tight corner and Esteban took it wide to avoid the now leader. On turn 12, Esteban took the offense on the leader and took the apex of the corner as Max also cut the corner tight, causing them to collide and both spin out. This resulted in Louis taking the lead and pushing Max into P2 with damage to his car. Cecilia could hear through her headset, "He better hope I do not see him in the paddock after the race. Fucking ridiculous." Cecilia rolled her eyes and knew he would not do something like that. He was aggressive, but not violent.

The race finished and Max ended in P3 due to the damage to his car. Max got out of the car and immediately walked into the cool down room, not saying a word to the team, only a fake smile. Cecilia could tell he was going to do something he would regret. She tried to reach for him but he just kept walking.

After the podium celebration, which Max did not stick around for, all of the drivers went to do interviews but Max was off somewhere else. Cecilia had to find him before he made a bad decision.

She walked around the grid to find the Alpine garage and there is where she found Max. Max had entered their cool down area and began to shove Esteban. "What the fuck is wrong with you man?" Max said and kept stepping towards him. "It's all just a part of the race. Why are you so upset about this?" Esteban said and gave him a taunting smile. Esteban glanced outside the garage and saw Cecilia hurrying towards them. "Oh there is your RedBull bitch coming to get you," Esteban said and pushed Max back. Max could not hold back any more and began to shove harder, pushing him down the steps of their garage. "Max stop," Cecilia said and tried to pull Max off of him. Max was too far gone. He began to push him further and further even as Esteban tried to get away. Eventually, they were up against a wall with Max pinning him to the wall by his driving suit where Max leaned into Esteban's face and said, "If you say a single fucking thing about her again, I'm going to beat the shit out of you. And stop trying to mess my career up just because you are a shit driver." Max let go of him and stormed out of the garage. Cecilia trailed after him but knew not to say anything.

They got back to the RedBull garage and went into Max's locker room. She gave her father a look as they passed and he knew what she meant. Max immediately sat down on the bench and buried his face in his hands. "I'm going to regret that, aren't I?" he groaned as he rubbed his sweaty face. "Yes you fucking are Max. That was stupid," Cecilia said and sat in a folding chair next to the door. "I wasn't thinking straight but he needs to be put in line. He can't keep saying shit about you and also fucking me over in the race," Max said frustrated. Cecilia smiled and said, "We need to find a way for you to redirect all of this anger." "Well I know one way," Max grinned. Cecilia rolled her eyes and said, "We are not fucking in your locker." "Please," Max begged. "Maybe when we get home, you've showered, and you've learned your lesson. Now get dressed so we can leave this place before people start questioning why you assaulted Ocon," Cecilia said and went out the door. "I'm sorry C," Max said as she opened the door. "No need to be sorry as long as you change what you've done," she said and closed the door behind her.

Back in the garage, all of the mechanics, engineers, and strategists were chatting about what happened. It was definitely on video. Cecilia walked into the garage and everyone immediately stared at her. "If anyone of you says a single thing to him about this in the next 24 hours I will be beyond upset," Cecilia said and walked over to her father. "Is he okay?" he asked quietly. "He's dumb but he'll be fine," Cecilia said. "He needs to work on his emotions," her dad said and left it at that as he began to type and search on his computer. Eventually, Max walked out to the garage and everyone stared without saying a word. Cecilia began to walk out of the garage and Max followed behind her. "Do they know what happened?" Max asked. "It was caught on TV so I would assume they would," Cecilia said. She was beyond annoyed by his ignorance and inability to control his anger, especially when he knew there were cameras around. They got back to the car and Max asked, "Could you drive us home?" Cecilia was a tad confused but took the keys and got in. They started their long drive back to the hotel and Max was silent for the first 15 minutes until Cecilia glanced over to him and saw a single tear stream down his face. Without saying anything she pulled over to the side of the road and asked, "Max, what is wrong?" He turned to her and began to cry. Letting all of his tears and anger out, he began to sob with his hands covering his face so as to stop the river of tears streaming down his face. "I just can't do a single fucking thing right," Max said through his shaky voice. "What do you mean?" Cecilia asked, turning to face him. "I fucked up my relationship with my dad, I fucked up my career, I fucked up my relationship with you," Max rambled. Cecilia placed her arm on his, "Max, your dad was a no-good, abusive alcoholic, you are a two-time world champion driving for the best team, and I in no way think that you messed up our relationship." "But it seems like the moment that things go well for me, I manage to mess them up all over again," Max said, trying to breathe through his sobs. "Like what?" Cecilia asked softly. "I tried to call my dad yesterday and see if he wanted to get dinner with me. He will never eat dinner with a 3rd place winner," Max finished and began to weep. Cecilia leaned across and wrapped her arms around him and stroked his head. "Your dad does not dictate who you are or what you are worthy of. The performance that you gave this race and every other race that you have had has been impeccable. There is no need for you to care about what someone thinks when all they care about is perfection," Cecilia said and held his head in her arms, combing through his hair. "Is it bad that I still want a relationship with him?" Max asked, a little clearer now. "Not at all. He's your dad," Cecilia said. "I want to try to talk to him. But maybe I'll wait until this has died down," Max said. Cecilia stroked his head for a few minutes until he dozed off to sleep. She managed the rest of the drive home with one hand on the steering wheel and one hand stroking his head.