28. May 2016
"Are you falling for it?" Was the first thing Max heard as Daniel entered his room, without knocking. The Dutch was just glad he was fast enough to pull his shirt down after changing so his teammate wouldn't see his back. Sure that Joanna had left her marks after he decided to decorate her neck with love bites.
"What?" Max questioned as Daniel stared at him. The bright smile the Aussie normally wore plastered on his face nowhere to be seen. It was concern, which was written all over his face, concern, and interest.
Daniel couldn't say he was proud of how long it took him to understand Joanna's moves in Spain. Something about the whole situation had felt off, it simply wasn't Joanna's handwriting. Yes, she liked to play with the fire, but with her role as GPDA- director her games have decreased in their intensity.
Playing with the feeling for two starstruck lovers was beneath her, Daniel knew that she would never lower herself to that level, especially because she was close to both of them privately. Her fights against her friends were always fought nobly, Daniel knew that from experience.
Her go-to method was anger. Not her anger, but one of her enemies. Joanna liked to enrage men; she enjoyed the view. Angry and impulsive people tend to take the wrong step and if they did, Joanna was there to close her trap. Intentionally putting them in situations where they would leash out.
With that tactic, she had ruined Fernando's reputation. Now he was known as a difficult man to work with, with a toxic personality, all thanks to Joanna which is why Fernando loathed her so much. He underestimated her once and since that day, she let him pay for his mistake.
So, Daniel concluded that Lewis and Nico's crash must have been a side effect of her original game. Joanna wasn't one to play with other people's lives, not anymore. The only thing he couldn't figure out was how her move had hurt Fernando. Normally he was her main target, even though her games have reduced over the years, but that was where he went wrong. Joanna wasn't after Fernando, the Spaniard wasn't a threat any longer, but she saw one in Max Verstappen, which concerned him. If Joanna made such an effort to lure the Dutchman into one of her clever traps, then he was also dangerous for him.
The bet with Fernando was always just a cover, a cover the Spaniard didn't even realize he was providing the Austrian with. Despite all the answers, one question still remained. Why was Joanna after Max?
"The Red Queen," Daniel answered with a light shrug of his shoulder like it would have been obvious to anybody what he was talking about.
"I know Joanna long enough to know that she wasn't provoking Nico. For some reason, she seems to be after you." Maybe Max would simply tell him. The Dutchman was really rather straightforward and chill. Hopefully, he knew something about the Austrian's plan.
"Why would she?" he asked defensively instead of simply answering the question, which told Daniel that he was on to something. The way Max's right hand began to tremble slightly when he tried not to say the Austrian's name showed Daniel that the boy knew more than he wanted to admit.
"That I don't know, my friend." The Aussie muttered, before sitting down next to Max. Maybe playing the big brother would help. Hopefully, Joanna hadn't sunk her claws too deeply into his flesh yet. Daniel liked the young Dutchman, but if Joanna saw a danger in him, he had to be on his guard, just as he was on guard with the Austrian, even though they were good friends in private. At home, they could do whatever they wanted, but on the track, war was the only thing they knew. After all, there were only 20 seats in F1, and no one who was here was willing to leave.
"But I do know Jo," Daniel added.
"She's openly taking on Fernando. Risking her precious Ferrari, stepping in to defend you, more than her GPDA role forces her to. Lauda's sugar-coating you so you won't see it coming when she's about to snap your neck." Daniel said, thinking it strange that Joanna changed her go-to tactics with Max. As far as Daniel knew she only once before used her body for her games but back then she burned herself playing with the fire. Learning from it, she preferred other methods. Never again doing the same mistake.
"Metaphorically speaking, right?" Max tried to joke a little bit uneasy. The Dutch didn't see Joanna as a threat, he liked her and believed Joanna to like him back. He wasn't naive, Max knew that Joanna seemed to treat him slightly differently from the other drivers, but he was fully alright with that. After all, he was the only one who ended up in bed with the beautiful Austrian and he wouldn't change that for a treatment like all the others received. The young Verstappen was quite happy with how things were between the two of them right now.
"Yeah, sure why not." Daniel allowed Max's little input.
"I'm not falling for some stupid game. I'm not an idiot, Dan." Max told Daniel and the Aussie could see how the young Dutch disappeared behind his walls again. A guarded Max was far more difficult to deal with than a relaxed one.
"I'm just trying to warn you, mate. We don't call her the Red Queen for no reason." Daniel was the only one, whoever dared to mutter that name in her presence, but Joanna didn't seem farsed by that. She simply ignored it. A name doesn't matter to her. Daniel wondered if Max knew that they've already called her that long before she moved to Ferrari.
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Joanna was in a playful mood today, Matteo her race engineer could tell as soon as he saw the Austrian walking around the garage with her performance coach Andrew and her PR-agent Kiwi, greeting the crew as she did always before a long workday in the car would start, but today something was different. She seemed to genuinely enjoy herself, despite her hate for her second home race.
It's not like Joanna didn't like street circuses, no she actually loved them but the Austrian always felt like the familiarity and comfort of her own home caused too much of a distraction. Of course, she enjoyed sleeping in her own bed for a change, but that often ended in her running late for various meetings and even sessions much to Ferrari's displeasure.
"She's in a good mood, no?" Matteo asked Andrew with an amused grin on his lips as soon as the Canadien trainer had sent Joanna off to get changed and walked over to have a little chat with the race engineer.
"Happens when she gets herself laid," Andrew muttered, not loud enough to hear for anyone but Matteo, who snickered.
Andrew leaned back against the control stand with his back, looking up at Matteo, how was stiffly seated in front of some screens. The Italien never seemed to really relax, not even with the people around he's most at ease with.
"Won't complain. She's easier to deal with when she's happy." Matteo told the Canadian performance coach, who nodded.
"Wasn't the case for some time now," Matteo added, which caused Andrew to sigh. He knew the Italien was right. Joanna seemed to be unhappy for the maturity of this season and even some weeks before the season started. Andrew could tell that something was on the Austrian's mind but their relationship was strictly professional. Joanna didn't tell him about her private life, she didn't allow him to overstep the line between an employee and a confidante.
At first, he was hurt that Joanna tried her best to shut him out, but Kiwi always made sure to assure Andrew that it was for his own good. The last relationship she had with a performance coach was a close one and as it went south it hurt Joanna a lot, so Andrew respected the Austrian's decision in keeping things strictly professional.
"I know. I'm just worried that it's Mark again." The Canadian muttered, which caused Matteo to look at him with widened eyes. Nobody ever admitted what they all knew was going on between Mark Webber and Joanna Lauda back in the day. Whatever they had wasn't healthy. Mark despite Joanna and her quick mouth additionally the girl was barely legal when it all had started.
"Something like that will never happen again," Matteo said, but to be true he couldn't be sure of that. The only one who might be able to tell was Kiwi. She was there from the beginning, always on Joanna's side.
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29. May 2016
Monaco in the wet wasn't something Joanna fancied, not even when she was originally in a good mood. The Austrian was standing next to her performance coach, who carried her helmet and water bottle while watching Daniel walk past. The Aussie managed to get pole, while the Ferrari's struggled. Ending in a rather disappointing start position for Joanna. Seventh wasn't good enough for a Ferrari, she knew that, but there was no way to change that now. The Ferrari's needed an excellent start, but with a safety car in front of them, it would take some time, before she could start catching up with the Mercedes and Daniel. The only problem was the Force India cars she was surrounded with. Hulk would give everything to get past her and Perez would give everything to hold her behind him, so the Austrian knew that she would be traped for some time between two drivers she shouldn't even have to fight against.
"It's time for the anthem," Andrew told her, pulling Joanna away from her thoughts. The performance coach handed his driver an umbrella and her cap, before sending her on her way.
Joanna walked down the track alone until she felt a hand on the small of her back, turning around in confusion, Joanna looked into the smiling face of Jenson Button, who was fast to get a hold of her umbrella, so he would be protected from the rain as well.
"Care to share?" He asked with a smirk, which caused Joanna to relax her shoulders again and allow Jenson to hold the umbrella for both of them. Jenson's arm now slung over her shoulder to hold her close.
"How could I say no to you?" Joanna asked the sarcasm in her voice audible, but Jenson only smiled brightly at her, before looking over his shoulder where Fernando was grumpily following them. Jenson had abandoned his teammate and friend for the benefit of Joanna's umbrella.
"What do you say? Do they repeat Barcelona?" Jenson said, unobtrusively pointing at the two men who had already taken their places for the hymn.
"Hopefully they aren't asking a GPDA director to play mediator. I'm not doing that," Joanna muttered which caused Jenson to smile at her. The Brit understood that Joanna didn't want to get involved with their love-hate relationship, but a little bird told him that the Austrian was already in the middle of it all. Supposedly she had a cozy night with the British Mercedes driver, fully to the displeasure of the German. Additionally the flirting in Barcelona, Nico was not well disposed towards the Austrian at the moment. Jenson loved gossip and he would take everything Joanna would give him, he was the king of gossip but the Austrian knew that as well, always careful to not give herself away.
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The start was as exciting as it could be behind a safety car. Joanna tried her best to ignore Matteo's complaints about the temperature of the tires giving her best to make sure they're cooled properly. An overheating wet tire was the worst thing but her possibilities were more than simply limited.
Getting the notice that the safety car would end next lap, Joanna was worried. Daniel wasn't the most experienced driver to lead a restart. If he took too long, he would push the field very tightly together, which was almost a guarantee for an accident in Monaco. Joanna wished she wouldn't be stuck right in the middle of it all. Upon crossing the line, the actual race started and Joanna went for the gap right away, passing Perez in a very tight move.
She was sure the Mexican would complain but that was racing. Joanna didn't have the time to be stuck in traffic for too long if she wanted to say on that podium today. A few laps later, she was right behind Carlos, who she passed with DRS without any difficulties, right before another safety car.
Slowing down, Joanna took the time to ask what happened and as they told her that Palmer crashed but was alright, she started to ask about the cars ahead of her. Matteo was fast to tell her that the next car ahead was already Seb. Which meant she had watched up brighter nicely, but the race wasn't over yet.
Joanna was a gifted driver but in rain she was superb. Following Sebastian through the streets of Monaco, creeping closer with every corner, she asked for the team to tell him to move aside for her, which the German didn't take well. It took some more complaining from Joanna and a few words from their boss until Sebastian finally moved to the side and let her pass. Of course, Joanna understood that Sebastian didn't want to give his position up, but Joanna was simply faster in the wet, but the rain stopped and the track started to dry up.
"Do we have a plan for that?" Joanna had asked Matteo, who simply told her that they're still on strategy A, which caused Joanna to huff in annoyance. There was no way she would be able to drive end the race on inters.
"I want to pit for slicks." She told Matteo after another set of laps. Her wet tires already gone more or less, it felt like she was driving on slicks. Matteo was unhappy with her demand, there were still too many laps to go, so he told her to hold on a little bit longer, while Daniel decided to pit of slicks already. Matteo watched his times closely but didn't tell Joanna about Red Bull's tactic. They would go for a two-stop strategy, but Ferrari had other plans.
Passing Rosberg, Joanna was fast to catch up to Lewis, who was already on slicks as well as Daniel, which caused Joanna to frown. Wouldn't be the first time Ferrari's strategy wouldn't pay off.
"Matteo, let me pit for slicks." She ordered the race engineer, but Matteo wasn't even thinking about that yet. She needed at least another three laps before he would allow that, but right at that moment Verstappen made contact with the wall, just like yesterday, which already caused him to start from the box and now it caused the end of his race, but for Joanna, the timing couldn't be better. Matteo called her in under the safety car, for an acceptable pitstop.
"Who crashed out?" Joanna asked after driving past the wrecked Red Bull people worked on to remove it. If it was Daniel she would be in second right now, which she wasn't telling her that it must have been Max. Feeling a little bit uneasy, Matteo told her that the Dutch was disappointed with himself but alright, causing Joanna to tell him to keep her updated on the drivers ahead of her. Before long, the safety car was gone and Joanna did her best to catch Lewis. It was a fun challenge.
Lewis and she weren't new to battle each other on track. Fighting hard but honest. Joanna was close to him, trying to overtake every once in a while but Lewis closed the gap every time.
"Spead up as much as you can. Red Bull is fucking up Ricciardo's pitstop." Matteo suddenly called and Lewis must have received a similar call from his team, causing the two champions to spread up as much as they could.
Approaching the pit exit, Joanna could see Daniel's Red Bull. She knew that it would be a terribly close call, but the Austrian would never back down. Lewis could maintain his lead, but Joanna and Daniel drove into the next corner wing to wing, wheel to wheel. Joanna wasn't much faster, maybe about three km/h but it was enough to roughly close the door right into Daniel's face. She could almost feel Daniel swearing behind her, but Joanna wouldn't back down.
The Austrian had felt the little touch the two had, but Matteo was fast to ensure her that there was no damage on her car, but Daniel managed to damage the side of his wing. Not bad enough for him to retire or to have to lip back in the ox to change wing, but bad enough to ensure that he wouldn't fight against Joanna this race again. The last few laps weren't as exciting as the ones during the pit stops but Joanna was alright with that. They drove back in formation.
Parking her car behind the second-place sign, Joanna carefully climbed out of the car. Lewis was fast to pull her in a little hug, before allowing her o step away to where her team was waiting. Matteo was the first to pull her into a hug before the rest of the team followed. After removing her helmet, Joanna saw Daniel. The normally so happy Aussie was looking like the weather today in Monaco.
Walking over to him, Joanna offered him her hand like she always did after a race, but Daniel only looked at her with this mask of indifference, before taking her hand. After all, the media was watching them. He pulled her into a hug for good measure. Showing the media that he wasn't a sore loser, despite being disappointed in his team today. But Joanna knew him better than that. Daniel was fuming. He didn't want to be here and pretend that everything was fine. Nothing was fine. At first Barcelona and now Monaco. The team was fucking him over, which only added in his frustration and for some reason, he desired that Joanna was the right person to receive his anger, one way or the other.
"We need to talk," Daniel whispered into Joanna's ear, which caused the Austrian to nod. Not knowing what the Aussie wanted to talk about but she would be up for it.
Daniel watched her, as she walked away to meet Lewis in the cooldown room. He has made a decision. Max might be a danger, but he will protect him from Joanna no matter what it takes. Nobody ever set's her limits, just because she was a GPDA-director. She had free reign for far too long by now. Someone else should have taken over after Jules's death, but Joanna still was the most powerful GPDA-director on the grid. Maybe he could make sure she would finally resign with Max's help. Daniel felt like he owned Jules to make sure Joanna was held responsible for her mistakes.
A GPDA- director shouldn't play games as Joanna did. It was her job to make sure everybody was safe but she caused the accident between Nico and Lewis and if Daniel hadn't backed down today she would have been to blame for another accident. Joanna was always a dangerous driver, but nobody ever blamed her, because she was the nice girl from next door and for a very long time, Daniel saw her like that as well, but now it was enough. For once and forever, Joanna needed to stop her games and step back from her position of power in the paddock.