Dalliance- [Max Verstappen]

[ T H I R T Y - O N E]

Daisy hopes that Max will be able to get pole position after doing so well in both first qualifying segments. She knows he is always hard to himself and with being first he doesn't have much to be unhappy with. He starts off strong, dominating in front of the Ferraris, but then, suddenly, Max sends his car into a spin, letting groans erupt in the garage and Daisy sighs in relief when the car seems to be totally fine. Unfortunately, because of this Max is only able to be the second fastest on the grid right behind Carlos Sainz with Checo being fourth

She would like to cheer Max up and tell him he did well nevertheless, but it seems like she can't meet up with him for the rest of the day. Only seeing a glimpse of him being busy with interviews or going to the debrief.

The day ends with Daisy in bed deciding that she will talk with Max after the race. Trying to ask him if they could talk and slowly reveal the pregnancy to him. Her heart races with fear of how he will react because of his short temper, but she tries to calm herself down. Everything is going to be fine. She repeats this sentence so many times that she slowly starts to believe it before finally drifting into a deep sleep.

On Sunday everyone is anticipating an eventful race, but after just the first corner some regret their excitement for some carbon pieces breaking in feisty battles. Daisy only manages to mutter out an "Oh god." when she sees one of the cars tumbling through the gravel before flying over the tire barrier and hitting the fence behind it.

The Garage, which previously was filled with cheers because Max managed to get passed Sainz directly at the start, is silent now, waiting for a sign that the driver is fine while the Red Flag is shown on screen. Daisy doesn't even realise that her fingers are shaking until Vicky puts a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Don't worry, the cars are safe." Vicky tries to reassure Daisy that everything is fine and she slowly nods. The cars might be safe, but Daissy just realised how quickly everything could end. How just one crash could turn things in a horrible direction and this only makes her decision to tell Max about her pregnancy even more important. Tell him after the race before anything might happen to him.

It takes some time until the track is cleared again, Daisy lets out a relieved breath when they show the driver is fine, but she doesn't feel ready to watch the rest of the race. Still, she kind of needs to stay in the garage and just hides her shaking hands in the pockets of her jacket.

The race starts again, Max loses his position to Carlos Sainz and needs to battle against the second Ferrari on track for a bit to hold his second place. After he manages to get some distance between him and Leclerc, Max begins to chase Sainz who suddenly goes off track making it easy for Max to go by and be in first place again. Daisy slowly starts to relax again, knowing it is probably not healthy to stress so much about a race.

Just when she thinks she can fully relax Max's car is suddenly starting to get slower. "Please don't." Daisy silently pleads to the car. If it breaks down Max will be furious, the team devastated and the day of many young fans ruined. They call him to box and Daisy can see that they check the car but send him out again.

"Critical damage to the car, but safe to continue." Daisy can hear someone say and shakes her head. How could it be safe to continue a high-speed race with a critically damaged car? But she is not the one to make such a decision, so she has to stay quiet. Observing how Max drops to P9 and fights with the Haas of Mick Schumacher who probably enjoys that battle. Daisy slightly every time Max's car stirs a bit on track and she just hopes for this race to finally end.

The battle for the podium is a rather exciting one, Checo being in for one of the trophies and Carlos Sainz close to his first win, while Max just tries to bring some points home which he does manage in the end. Checo crossing the line in second makes the team cheer with joy while Max's seventh place is just damage limitation. Daisy knows that she will have a break now since Checo is going to be occupied by the podium ceremony for a bit, so she decides to the hospitality of the team.