The Undercut | Max Verstappen

chapter 7

If he had a problem with me, then he was going to have to get over it real fast, because I wasn't going anywhere and sadly, neither was he.

—————-

Micah's POV.

I find myself trying to kill as much time as I can so I'm not left alone in Max's house for long. I know I no longer have anything to prove because I'm pretty sure he believed me when I told him I hadn't gone inside his room, but still, I couldn't help but feel just a little less welcome in the house than I did before. So there I was, sitting in a very aesthetically pleasing coffee shop in Monaco. Scandinavian style furniture filled the room, and greenery lined every corner, the myriad of different kinds of plants made the place look like a bit of a jungle. But the coffee was great and the pastry I was enjoying was even better.

I had tasked myself with tracing a line through Max's recent career downward spiral, the actual reason why Red Bull felt it was necessary to clean his name with a documentary in the first place. His performance athletically speaking was damn near perfect, he was breaking records left and right in what would surely go down in history as one of the most dominant seasons in the sport since the Championship was invented in 1950. His problem clearly wasn't inside the car. It was what happened as soon as he took off the helmet and a microphone was placed in front of his mouth. It was as if he just couldn't control his impulses and he just had the impending urge to say whatever was on his mind. And you see, honesty can be a good thing, but not when it makes you look like an entitled asshole. Or maybe I was simply biased because I was yet to see the best of him, the parts that made me rethink my opinion of him.

During my research session, which consisted mainly of endless scrolling through 'Max Verstappen' social media tags and googling his name incessantly, there were three clips that came up time and time again. So much so, that they seemed to be engrained into my brain permanently at this rate.

The first one was taken from a press conference where an out of line reporter asked him about whether his father's presence was a negative or a positive influence on him during race weekends, given their supposed rocky relationship. While certainly poignant, the question had nothing to do with his craft or what he was sitting there to talk about. So, it wasn't really that surprising when his eyes filled with pure icy cold and his lips molded the words precisely into the microphone: "Fuck you. He's my dad. He wouldn't be here if I didn't want him to be. You know nothing about our life or our relationship, it's none of your god damn business—." And with that his microphone was cut off, Max looking extremely offended at the FIA's media team for shutting him out as he cursed the journalist out. It only served to anger him more, pointing his finger directly at the media panel as he yelled even with a turned off mic. "You let them ask me any fucking thing and then you won't let me defend myself? It's just crazy! It's nonsense!" The silence that filled the media room was deafening and that's exactly where the video ends. It was clear that his family was a touchy subject, and I know all about Jos Verstappen's past allegations from previous instances of research I had done. I can't imagine what it must feel like to have your parents' lives dug up out of nowhere for the entire world to see. As someone who never had the best relationship with my own father, I can certainly relate to wanting to stay out of their issues as much as possible. Plus, I didn't know anything about the situation, who was I to jump to conclusions about a complete stranger's life?

The second clip is a bit more unclear. A blurry, distant recording shows Max glaring at a group of fans holding up their own phones to film him as he points yet another accusatory finger at them and blows up right outside the paddock entrance. "You won't get shit from me like that! I don't owe you anything. I'm just here to drive. Leave me the fuck alone!" My eyebrows furrowed immediately. What could they possibly have done to warrant such a reaction from him? Then again, what had I done for him to treat me the way he sometimes does? Could this just be him showing up to a race in a mood and berating these poor fans? Or was there an underlying cause to such a display of anger?