IN MY HEART // F1 MAX VERSTAPPEN [BOOK 1]

14.

"Yes, but Lando is our winner for these two weeks."

~•~

Freya stood by her Jeep, waiting for all the Formula One pilots who were supposed to arrive today to appear at the airport doors. Five people, including the driver, fit into her car. Then there was her father's car, which she borrowed and also accommodated five people. And then there were two more cars they ordered to make sure everyone could come.

She held the keys to all four cars in her hand, but she was only watching one set with sparks in her eyes: the keys to her personal car, which she acquired the first day she arrived here a few weeks ago to spend some time with her father before the Badminton Federation announces the outcome of the investigation. She always wanted a Jeep, but her mother forbade it, saying it wasn't a car befitting someone of her status. According to her, it wasn't a car for someone fighting for a world championship title, so she bought her a McLaren, a sports car she couldn't drive anyway because her mother forbade her from driving fast. Her mother drove it, and she always sat in the passenger seat.

The first thing she did after landing was to buy the Jeep she always wanted, because her mother couldn't stop her here. Her mother didn't know she was in Sweden, nor did she know she bought that car. Freya didn't care what her mother would think of the purchase because she felt great. When she sat in the car for the first time, she finally felt free. It was her car. It was the car she always wanted.

"I'm telling you, if it weren't for that stupid cone, I would have won," Freya heard a familiar voice. Max Verstappen. It was clear to her that he would blame his loss on that damned cone - but it's true that if he hadn't knocked it down, there wouldn't have been a virtual safety car, and he probably would have won. But that's just an if. Just as Max said, "if my mom had balls, she'd be my dad."

"Complaining again?" Freya spoke up, catching the attention of everyone who was slowly coming in. There were more than enough of them. The girl had been preparing for the chaos that would ensue all morning because she had never had so many people in her house before.

Max, Lando, Charles with his girlfriend Alex, Lewis, Carlos with his girlfriend Rebbeca, George with his girlfriend Carmen, and finally Daniel Ricciardo with his girlfriend Heidi. Luckily, her house was big, so hopefully, everyone would fit in there. She hoped they would fit.

"Since we boarded the plane," Lando replied. He didn't know Freya personally, and they had never seen each other before, but now he talked to her as if they had been friends for years. The blonde liked this approach because it meant they didn't want to go through that awkward getting-to-know-each-other phase that always happens when you meet someone for the first time.

"Just admit it, even the unbeatable Max Verstappen is sometimes beatable," she laughed when she noticed Max glaring at her, and then continued, "and he was beaten by a cone." The others laughed at her remark.