On Top of the World [Max Verstappen - Book 3]

13.5

Carter and Verstappen run away in the championship with only 4 races to go
Elodie Carter, 26, and Max Verstappen, 31, are over 150 points clear of the rest of the field, with only two points separating them. The pair has moved back to being on speaking terms after a season of not exchanging a word in public. They talk but the moments are few and far between and have become less still as the season has progressed and the pair are the only ones left in the conversation when it comes to driver's championships. Out of the 20 races this season, the pair have got 75% of the wins, with Elodie one up on Max.
When asked about the competitive season against her former teammate, Elodie was very gracious in the respect that she put on Max's name; "he's a fantastic talent, always has been. He was difficult to beat when in the same car and he obviously did a fantastic job last season...but I think this one is mine for the taking. I'm confident that on my best day no one can beat me and I'm having a lot of good days at the moment so as long as I can continue like this then I'm cautiously confident in my ability to win the championship."
Her foe on track (sometimes off as well) also spoke to us ahead of this race weekend. "Elodie is a great driver but I'm keeping up. The gap is only two points and so I think I have a chance still. I'll keep fighting for the win until I can't anymore and the same as Ellie-Elodie, on a good day I think I'm pretty unstoppable, we've both had our share of them."

Verstappen avoids answering questions on contract
Max Verstappen, the three-time world champion is coming to the end of his mega-contract with Red Bull, something the team are very keen to renew, however, as the season has gone on and no reports have surfaced over a signed contract, fans are wondering whether Max is considering retirement or another team.
There are only two other instances of Red Bull driver's going so late into the season without announcing a re-sign and both resulted in the driver's leaving which seems unlikely with Max being Red Bull's golden child meaning that fans believe the driver may be about to announce his retirement from the sport he has been in for 14 years now. Max remains tight-lipped, simply saying he's still in talks with the team about next year and future years but rumours are that there is a fully agreed document, just no signature from the Dutch driver who is currently second in the driver's championship.
Max can still fight with the best but the question comes as to whether he wants to anymore. Having broken many records and had many hard-won championship fights, there are rumours that the driver might want to retire to focus on his personal life with his girlfriend Sofia, also 31, and her son Luca. Having been together for almost two years there are talks of possible proposals and wedding bells in the pair's future.

Elodie Carter dating former VS supermodel?
The driver is known to keep her personal life to herself, with the exception of a couple of relationships that have accidentally gone public which Elodie has more closely referred to as flings than relationships, she was seen hand in hand in the streets of Monaco with French underwear model, Jasmine Lyon, 28. Jasmine has been at a couple of races with the Mercedes team this year and fans are wondering whether the date was the cause of her attendance or the result.
This will be the first time that Elodie has been rumoured to be dating a girl despite her being out as bisexual since 2023 and fans are excited at the possibility of the driver moving on from an unnamed ex-partner alluded to in an interview in Vogue last year. She said that the person was likely her soulmate but that driving had interfered with other relationship values. When asked by other people for more information the only thing she says is that he was normal and when they were together she "was normal too".
Fans are elated that Elodie might have found happiness with a new partner as it is rumoured she has struggled to balance relationships and her driving career, citing that it was perhaps an unfortunate side effect of being a woman in a hyper-competitive sport given many of her male counterparts manage relationships quite successfully.