Wrath & Protest [Max Verstappen]

[e i g h t.]

Training equaled hell itself, nothing more and nothing less. Max hated it, end of story, even if it acted as good content to post on his Instagram account.

However... He lost some weight. For that he absolutely had to credit his trainer.

Thanks to the significant weight reduction, all rounds of Free Practice in Bahrain went extremely well. He proved to be several seconds faster as he zipped through Turns five to 10. Watching the others struggle with the new aero regulations boosted the team's overall morale because, to put it frankly, Red Bull's aerodynamics department had always been top notch. Despite the simplifications the engineers and drivers figured out a way to work around it, and ultimately gained the upper hand. It was especially good because this circuit was difficult. Really difficult. So much so that 2018's Bahrain GP left a bitter taste in Max's mouth.

Everyone knew what happened then: the throttle, the kerb, 15th fucking place... God damn he cringed whenever he thought about it.

But today was not that day. Today, he vowed to complete all rounds of Qualis, to make it in the Top 5.

So as he sat in his little corner in the garage, Max kept watch of the pit lane while waiting for Q1 to begin. He needed to keep watch of the habits of the other drivers. If he intended to grab a spot on the podium, he needed to take this seriously, not like how he was in Melbourne. Max, after being revitalized by a new spirit of competition and Daniel's support, wanted to win a race, not just hope for one. In fact, he wanted a championship.

Seeing Vettel's Ferrari speed past reminded Max of the limited time he had if he wanted to beat the record for youngest world title holder. The 21-year-old puffed out his chest and straightened his back, blue eyes narrowing with newfound determination. Of course he could do it, with the skills and the tools he had.

But his stature broke when he saw the livery of RBR's sister team zoom by. He saw the number on the nose cone, 9. That must have been Burnouf's because Kvyat's number was 26.

That's right... He wasn't only battling for a title, he was also defending his seat.

A head engineer who was walking by noticed and approached the young driver, "Hey Max. How're you feeling?"

"Good," Max replied, "I'm ready for Qualifying."

"Great to hear. Listen, I know it didn't feel like it in Australia, but races from here on out are going to be pretty close. The guys at the FIA actually did a good job with the new rules, so looking at the recent predictions..."

"Oh, yeah, I noticed that last race weekend, with how well the Toro Rossos did..."

"Crazy, right? Maybe it was just luck... Anyway, just keep an eye out, alright? Drive harder but don't stress out the car too much. Even after testing, it's hard to tell where we stand, especially when it's still this early in the season."

"Thanks."

Max waited another half hour before Qualifying officially began. He strapped on his helmet and HANS device, and entered his vehicle. Starting the car allowed the sound of the Honda engine to mute everything else around him.

Settings looked good. His seat felt comfortable and he made note of the updated steering wheel, keeping in mind the location of the radio button in case he felt the need to complain while on track.

Pole position. C'mon, Max, start off the grid... Now!

***

No mistakes, thank god. Maybe there might have been some lost opportunities at the turns, lost chances to push the machine further, but he qualified second behind Hamilton's Mercedes. Second. That was a huge improvement from the last race, and a blessing since 2018. Pierre, however, lagged behind, and he ended up fifth behind Charles Leclerc.

Tomorrow, he'd show everyone that he was a legitimate title contender. Tomorrow, Burnouf would prove with her performance that she was a legitimate driver.

Max stood with the rest of the team as they analysed his and Pierre's results. As his eyes scanned the lap times, the girl's almost made his jaw drop.

Seventh. She out-qualified Kvyat by two places with Daniel in front of her.

Max never thought he'd feel what he felt for his former teammate after he left for Renault, but Max worried. He worried for Daniel because of that phone call the other day. The Australian thought Burnouf was an actual threat... Max ought to have believed him.

(A/N: Sorry for the short chapter! We'll ditch the narrative stuff and go right into the race action next chapter!)