The Undercut | Max Verstappen

chapter 3

"I'm just saying, you know better. You're the World Champion, you need to set the example." he stomped angrily beside me in that usual way he did, half huffing, half whisper-yelling.

"I set the example by showing up and doing my job. The first ten minutes it's mostly people gossiping about paddock drama anyway, I couldn't care less." I replied, walking faster through the corridors of the Red Bull Racing hospitality.

"Being a dickhead to your team won't get you anywhere, look at me." he said, and he was right. He wasn't necessarily known for being a joy to work with. He stabbed a mechanic with a fork once.

"It's gotten me pretty far, I'd say." Also true. A lot of people didn't like me, yet I was still a two time World Champion.

"You're nothing like me, son." he replied, and when I turned to look at him, he had his eyes on me. "These people here love you, you owe them respect."

I clenched my jaw, feeling like a stupid kid yet again. "I know. I just overslept. It won't happen again. It's not like I'm always late." I justified. God, I really was acting like a 13 year old.

My dad was visiting for the weekend, which meant he hung around in the garage and the hospitality and generally stressed me out until his wife (truly a godsend, that woman) put her hand on his shoulder and said something among the lines of "Come on, sweetie, leave the kid alone, he can handle himself". And surprisingly, it always worked like a charm.

Truth is, the time my dad spent being single between his second and third wives was crucial for him. He'd stopped drinking, he'd gone to some kind of counseling retreat, and after that, he'd met Sandy and his life had gotten significantly back on track ever since. Sure, he was still a hot-headed asshole, and he's arrogant and rude most of the time, but he wasn't violent. He didn't need to hurt others to feel in control. Part of me liked seeing the way he treats my two youngest siblings as if he's too scared that if he looks at them for too long they will break. But the other part of me wishes that had been me. I would probably be a lot different now if I'd been afforded the same grace. I love my dad, I do. And he loves me too. But he's hurt me too much for me to ever have a normal relationship with him.

"I'm going in now." I said, pointing at the meeting room that was only a few feet away from us. "I'll see you guys later." I said, ruffling my 4-year-old brother Jason's hair as he looked up at me in admiration from behind his mom's legs.

My 3-year-old sister, Mila, was comfortably perched up on my step mom's hip as she held her in her arms, and I leaned forward to press a loud kiss to her cheek, smiling at her like she was the light of my life. God, I love those kids with my entire heart. I made a mental note to call Blue. Out of all my siblings she was the one I saw the least, because the 9-year-old lives with her mother, my dad's second wife, so the only time I see her nowadays is during the holidays and whenever I race in Zandvoort and her mom drives her over to the track. Every time I saw her she'd just gotten taller and so much cooler. I felt like with all the traveling F1 had me doing, I was missing so much of her life that I'd never get to experience. Victoria, my 24 year old sister, lives only about an hour and a half away from Blue's house, so they see each other often. And the little ones see her every weekend because dad's got shared custody now. If I'm being honest, every time I see her I'm scared she'll have forgotten about me, or that we will have nothing to talk about, or that she'll somehow resent me for being a shitty brother and never being around. But every single time she surprises me with how kind, smart, funny and fucking weird she is. Definitely the best of us, that one.

Brushing away the thoughts of my sister momentarily, I opened up the door to the meeting room and walked in with an apologetic smile on my face as I slid into my usual seat. "Hi guys, sorry I was late. Won't happen again." I said.