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

26.5

Are Carter and Verstappen dating?
Finally, the photos that all F1 fans have been waiting for since Elodie Carter was first announced as Max Verstappen's teammate. The two were seen arriving at a large dinner party on the fellow driver, Charles Leclerc's yacht, hand in hand, with Verstappen seen with one arm around his rumoured girlfriend's waist since on the boat and later in the evening the pair were seen very cosy on the top deck of the boat as it came back into the marina. Max Verstappen, 31, had his arm around the shoulder of Elodie Carter, 27, as they came back into the port and neither made any particular attempt to separate themselves as they left the boat together and got into the same car. Perhaps the former rivals were just being friendly and getting a lift share but fans are hopeful that this is perhaps the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
Max, who retired at the end of last season and broke up with his girlfriend of eighteen months has returned to the paddock as a special advisor to Red Bull after previously saying that he would be stepping away from the sport. Many have wondered what it is that enticed the Dutch driver back to the paddock and the answer has been pretty clear to fans and spectators of the sport as the weekly videos and photos of interactions between Max and his former teammate Elodie have flooded social media. Many have thought for a while that the pair are potentially an item, dating as far back as Elodie's first season in F1 however there has never been anything as concrete as these photos that suggest the two are perhaps an item - even stopping together with some fans as Max signed some caps while Elodie waited for him, answering questions and both of them looking very happy and at ease in each other's company and in front of the fans despite being very aware of the cameras filming them.

Melodie confirmed?
Max Verstappen and Elodie Carter seem to confirm their relationship as they walk into the paddock together on Thursday media day of Monaco race week. The pair didn't do anything particularly affectionate in the public area of the paddock, however, rumours have it they're very comfortable with one another behind closed doors. This comes after the pair arrived and left a party earlier this week together and Max guest featured in Elodie's Sky feature interview when dog-sitting in her home earlier this week makes fans think the two are confirming they are an item although neither has spoken on the topic.
Update: The pair left the paddock together at the end of media day and repeated this pattern of events the following day after free practice debriefs were done for both teams, with Max carrying Elodie's bag over one shoulder as they chatted and exited the paddock together.

An in-depth timeline of Elodie Carter and Max Verstappen's relationship:
With the recent photos suggesting that the two three-time world champions are officially an item surfacing (can we say power couple any louder?) we thought we would break down the time line for those interested.

2022: Elodie Carter, 20 at the time, enters the Formula One paddock as the first female driver for a team in over thirty years as she drives for Mercedes, a seat that her sponsors at Mercedes helped her to secure as she came runner-up in F2 by one point. 2022 is also the year that Max Verstappen first defends his world champion title - later going on to dominate the season. The pair seem to have a rough start to the season with people in the paddock saying that they appear hot and cold with one another during press conferences, although a lot of this is put to rest after an amusing film segment for Netflix where the pair battle one another. Max dominates this season, taking 82.88% of all points available, meanwhile, Elodie has an impressive rookie year, helping Williams move out from the bottom position in the table and into eighth. This along with the French Grand Prix where she covered for fellow driver George Russell who was struck down with covid gave the rookie her first-ever F1 podium as she overtook the Red Bull of Sergio Perez in the last laps of the race - an essential part of securing the Red Bull contract for 2023. Fans have long speculated that Sergio's remarks following this announcement were the reason why Max Verstappen stopped helping his teammate secure second in the championship - although this remains unconfirmed despite the famous radio comms to his team where he says 'you know my reasons' and given his already close bond with the British driver, people were convinced it was because of this. After the pair are announced as future teammates a somewhat flirtatious friendship is born and the two drivers seem to spend a lot of time with one another throughout the rest of the season - although they cool off in the winter break.