Adrenaline: A Lestappen Story

27- The Last Time He Loved Me

Mimicking the taps that Max often gave him on the podium, Charles signaled to him: I feel everything for you.

When the weekend of the Brazilian Grand Prix arrived the excitement of their rivalry had grown into something only a few other rivalries in the history of the sport ever matched. It was like the sun had chosen to circle around them and the earth to tremble at their presence, every person in it at the edges of their seats — excitedly expecting their next move.

The track of Interlagos was one of the few tracks of Formula One that had an extensive history in the sport. One of the most important races had taken place in the stage of the Brazilian grounds and the next race had been doomed to be one of these. With points perfectly matched, any of their wins could represent an important rise in the championship. In fact, if any of them did not finish the race it'd mean the championship would be practically lost for him.

Like almost every race for the past few weekends, Kelly would attend the Brazilian Grand Prix to support Max, especially considering she was half Brazilian. However, there was a condition attached: she wouldn't get in between Max's special visits to Charles.

The one thing Max had found himself slightly unfortunate about was that his father had decided to accompany him for the race. Going to the Brazilian Grand Prix was something Jos had only done a couple of times throughout Max's career; however, this time he had deemed his presence utterly necessary. Jos had grown worried about Max's performance, and on many occasions, he had tried to call him to talk about the subject, only to be ignored. So, to take matters into his own hands, the Dutchman decided to show up along with the rest of the Red Bull team, in order to provide his support—or so he thought.

Max spent the first day attending meetings and making a few media appearances, which unfortunately took away his opportunity to meet with Charles due to the distance between their hotels. However, on the Friday after practice and qualifying for the next day's sprint race, Max sent a message to Charles, informing him that he would find his way to his hotel later that day.

Photos of him and Kelly walking through a crowded paddock flooded social media, but once Max entered the Red Bull building for their strategy meeting, he could barely keep his focus. All he could think about was the fact that he would get to see Charles that same day—to taste his lips, to feel his touch, to look into his eyes.

When he entered the room, his attention was abruptly pulled back to the scene before him—the usual team was not there. In the room, there was only Christian Horner and the chief engineer.

"Kelly, can you wait outside please?" Christian asked kindly, gesturing towards the door.

"Sure..." she shrugged, dissatisfied with having to step away from what appeared to be some kind of intervention.

Max felt a shiver down his spine as he watched Kelly leave the room. He sensed they were going to address his recent dip in performance, something he wouldn't be able to explain. However, their first revelation was completely different.

"Max, we have signed a contract with Carlos Sainz. We wanted you to know before the news comes out tomorrow," they said, pushing the documents towards Max—a one-year contract that would place Carlos as his teammate for the next season.

Max immediately frowned, his anger flaring at the news. "Why? What the fuck-" He paused, snatching the papers from the table. "Why the fuck would you sign him? You know I don't like him. Just sign Checo again," he argued, tossing the papers back onto the table.

"He offered some crucial information about Ferrari, and we couldn't refuse the deal. He's a pretty good driver, after all," Christian debated, calmly placing the documents back into a folder.