As he closes the door behind us, he turns around to face me and I speak up. "What are you-' before I finish he grabs my face and begins to passionately kiss me pushing me towards the bed until I feel the wooden frame against my calves. He pushes me back without breaking the connection between our lips, I can't taste the alcohol in his saliva.
As he begins to snake his hands up my top I break the kiss and pull his hand from underneath my t-shirt. "Max, stop" he looks at me puzzled "Why?" He questions drunkenly. "You are drunk out of your mind, why don't you get some sleep".
I stand up from the bed and help him navigate around the room to the bathroom. We all knew that this night would end up in everyone being inebriated so we decided it would be best to stay on the boat. After he emerges from the bathroom in shorts and a t-shirt I hand him a glass of water and help him into bed before leaving him.
I decide to head back up the stairs to the main saloon of the boat where Lily and Kika are still sitting where they were when I left them. "What was all that about?" Kika asks. "Oh nothing he just wanted me to help him find his room" I respond rather unconvincingly and I can tell they don't believe me by Lily's comment, "and that took you nearly an hour". I feel my face blush with nerves, it has always been my sign that I'm not telling the truth. Their facial expressions change into a look that interrogates me without them saying a word.
"We may or may not have had a little kiss, that's all", they simultaneously gasp and then Kika turns to Lily and says "you owe me €50".
I'm puzzled, "What do you mean?" I add.
"Well we always knew you weren't straight so we bet on who you would have a thing with, I bet Max and Lily bet Ollie" Kika answers.
I turn to Lily and exclaim "you think I would have a thing with Ollie, he's nice and all but not my type".
We spend ages discussing the whole 'story' between me and Max and I quickly get to know them on a much deeper level and they are no longer just Pierre and Alex's girlfriends. They have such a genuine interest in my life it feels nice and validating that I am actually somewhat interesting.
At 2 AM pretty much everyone has gone to bed except me and Daniel who is inside whilst I'm sitting on the bow of the boat taking in the serenity of the night sky. I hear him approaching as he sits down next to me. "How are you?" he asks "Why does everyone always ask me how I am, do I look sad all the time or something?" he laughs "chill it's just a natural greeting".
There is a monetary pause before he starts speaking "How are you and Max going?", I feel confused "We aren't going at all, we are just friends".
"Don't bullshit me, I have seen you two together you can't keep your eyes off each other and you and Max were gone for a while this evening". "Fucking hell Danny your like a fucking spy".
"I don't know how it's going honestly, I don't think I'm ready for a relationship just yet I need to focus on my performance and being myself first".
He nods in agreement and places his arm around me and we both just stare up into the night sky which is populated by a multitude of stars. We spend a while just in silence yet it's not an awkward silence it's a comforting one. We part at 3 AM and I am the final one to go to bed.
Drifting off to sleep as the gentle lap of the wave gently rocks the boat it doesn't feel long until I am awoken by the sound of a cacophony of cheers coming from above where the main deck is. I toss and turn over and pull the cotton sheets over my head and attempt to get some sleep. However, it's abruptly ruined by Max bursting into my room and slamming my door shut.
"What the actual fuck" I exclaim.
"Sorry Charles is after me, I tried to push him in the ocean but it failed so he's after me".
"Yes but what if I didn't have any clothes on or was on a private call" I retort
He approaches me and places his hands in my hips as by this time I have stood out of bed barely conscious of what's going on, and he whispers "Maybe it would be better if you didn't have any clothes on" as he leans in their is an thunderous bang on the door, it's Charles and he knows Max is in here.
Max makes his way over to the door and pleads with Charles not to harm him, it reminds me of a sibling rivalry that actually stems from love rather than hatred.
Time quickly passes and I grow more impatient. I just want to go and eat food so I push Max out the way and open the door causing Charles to stumble through the door. They both look at each other whilst I'm between them and I see that I have to be the mediator in this situation and relay words my mother used to say to me, "if you can't play nicely together don't play at all".
Trudging up the stairs to the main deck I'm the last one to get up there except for Charles and Max who are probably below deck murdering each other.
I take a seat next to Zhou and grab some fruit and a glass of water and try to catch onto the conversation that everyone was having.
I learned the plans for the day are to spend some time just chilling and catch the flight over to Saudi Arabia. It doesn't sound like the most enjoyable or eventful last day but it's not the worst.
After a while Chalres and Max come back up and sit at the table. Max makes a personal request to Zhou that he move so he can sit next to me, Zhou not wanting to get on the wrong side of the current F1 champion willingly obliges.
We leave the port of Melbourne, but we don't go far, only about 2 miles where we are far enough from the docks to do things like jet skiing and diving. I have never been one for the sea, I'm not scared of it but I hate the salty water that gets in my eyes, dries my skin out and makes me feel all disgusting.
I sit on the sun deck partly engrossed in my book and partly engrossed in conversation with Kika and Lily.
All of a sudden Max comes over with Charles and George and they all grab me and lift me up and essentially dangle me over the edge of the boat. "Put me down motherfuckers" I shout, but they don't listen. Instead they drop me, I fall 15 feet from the top deck and plunge into the tepid sea. I emerge and see all 3 of them peering over the edge "you are all dead" I swim over the swim platform and get helped up by Zhou and Yuki. My clothes drenched in sea water, my book ruined and my eyes stinging. Whilst it may have been a joke I can't really see the funny side of it. Kika hands me a towel and I take off my clothes and wrap the towel around me and head down to my room to change into some clean, dry clothes.
I head back up to the top deck and the 3 idiots are sitting there waiting for me but I ignore them sitting back in my previous spot. Max tries to make conversation but I blank him, so does Charles followed by George but I do the exact same thing. However when Zhou comes up I immediately make conversation with him and see Max being perpetuated by anger.
They eventually get the hint and walk away leaving us to get back to what we were initially doing. That's when Kika turns to me and asks "How long are you going to be mad at your boyfriend?"
"Until he apologises" I reply.
Time flies by as most of the drivers are out on jet skis or diving off the boat and before I know it we are back at the dock and heading off to the airport. I choose to sit by myself on the transfer bus, I have Max and Daniel in front of me chatting away.
Halfway into the journey Daniel turns around and tries to include me in the conversation but I politely decline on the basis I won't speak to Max until he apologises to me, but given his stubborn nature I don't expect it to be any time soon.
The private airport is much smaller than the grand scale international airport of Melbourne, there is only a singular plane stationary on the tarmac which is ours. Our luggage had been sent forward by our teams already, so we step straight onto the plane and try to locate the nearest empty seat, which just so happens to be by the window.
All the other drivers pile in taking their seats and I see Max making his way towards me, I instantly feel my blood pressure begin to rise. He stops and looks at me."Not a fucking Chance" I declare. He however disregards my comment and sits down next to me the smell of his cologne gently intoxicating my nose.
The first proportion of the flight is spent in total silence. Max has made the odd attempt to commence a conversation but hasn't gotten anything out of me.
"You know it was so funny seeing you climb back on the boat soaking wet". I don't validate his petulant comment with a reaction because I know that's exactly what he wants.
The flight goes pretty smoothly. I fell asleep halfway into it meaning I avoided all conversation with Max.
We arrive in Saudi Arabia at 11 AM local time for the 3rd race of the season however unlike the first 2 we don't have a break instead it's back to racing right away which I'm kind of glad about, I don't like sitting around doing nothing.
I drop my stuff off before heading out for a run, but before I head out I quickly check social media and see Max had taken a photo of me whilst I was sleeping and posted it. It's like this man wants me to be more pissed off at him.
Setting off for my run I play music obnoxiously loud and zone out. I don't really track the direction I'm running in, the hot sun that is beating down on me causes waves of nausea as my core temperature increases by the second.
Thankfully I run into a street stall selling drinks, I sit down on one of the stalls benches and engulf the drink in basically a few sips. I try to recover my depleted energy for the run back and after 45 minutes I manage to find that energy. The run back is much slower but more enjoyable and I manage to find a good rhythm that doesn't exert my body as much as it did before.
I arrive back at the hotel drenched in sweat, I walk in and I am greeted by Max who is sitting down typing on his phone, "Hey, you good it looks like you've been sprayed with someone's garden hose", "I'm good, not that my well being is of concern to you".
"What is your problem?" He asks. "Are you going to apologise for throwing me 15 ft off a boat?" he scoffs, "is this what you ignoring me has been about? It was a fucking joke Y/N, I'm not apologising for it?". "Fine, but don't talk to me until you are prepared to apologise."
It's race day and me and Max haven't spoken all week, it's been quite tense. If anything the problem is we are both as stubborn as each other and refuse to give in to one another.
The others have started to sense something is off when given that we have been far apart from each other for the entire week. George and Charles have since apologised and George even replaced my book so we are all good and back to normal but Max is refusing to back down but so am I.
"Y/N 30 seconds until lights out". Sitting in P2 I intently wait for the lights to extinguish and manage to get a good start but not as good as Max. He instantly gets ahead of me and I am in no good position to try and fight him so I just focus on defending against George.
At turn 5 Max is a bit hesitant causing me to get ahead of him but by Turn 7 he gets right in front of me again. Pushing the car to its absolute limits doesn't seem to do much in terms of catching up to Max but it manages to fend off George.
Coasting into lap 4 I receive news from my engineer: "Y/N Vertsappen is going to be retiring due to mechanical issues, Russell is behind 1.2 seconds".
It kind of puts me at ease knowing I'm in P1. It's a comforting feeling that I have missed. The race is going really well. George has been preoccupied with defending against Carlos that he hasn't been trying to catch up with me.
"Y/N box, box"
"Copy box, don't mess up this pit stop like you did in free practice"
"We will try not to"
Entering the pit lane I'm preempting a disastrous pit stop like they did in FP2. But to my genuine surprise it is a regular pit stop.
I manage to come out just behind Carlos but I don't worry, knowing all the drivers infront will have to box soon anyway.
I keep well within distance of him and they all eventually end up in the pits bumping me back up into P1.
The final lap is tight: "Y/N Russell behind with DRS", I can see him constantly attempting to make a move on me and it takes every ounce of knowledge and wisdom to hold him off from overtaking me.
"Y/N final sector, Russell dropping back 1.1 seconds"
Commentary: "In his 3rd race Y/N L/N may just go on to win the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and this could be the exact boost Sauber was looking for. He said he never intended to settle for last and he has held on to first place like his life depends on it.
His teammate Zhou Guyanu has just made a last minute overtake on Charles Leclerc as he locks up.
Saubers last win was in 2008 they could really use this win. And and all their prayers will be answered as Y/N L/N crosses the line in first place and for the first time in his F1 career he is a Grand Prix winner, I'm sure Sauber will be elated with that result"
"Y/N P1, P1 that was an amazing drive for both you and Zhou, the standings are looking really good for us excellent result"
"Guys amazing result couldn't have asked for anything better"
I had truly missed the feeling of getting first place, it has truly been ages since I felt like this and I have missed it.
I ecstatically jump out of my car in parc ferme and get weighed before jumping into the crowd of team members and embrace them all in a hug. I thank each and every one of them for making my dream come true of being a grand prix winner.
After a while I walk over to Gunther who is waiting with a microphone.
Gunther: Y/N first race win in F1 how does it feel?
Y/N: Well as you can imagine it feels pretty damn good achieving this not only for myself but the entire team.
Gunther: What do these points mean to you and the team?
Y/N: Well as I'm sure you are aware when you have a team that is in the bottom of the standings any points even if it's just one means a lot so 25 means the world and this is a testament to the hard work the team has put in.
Gunther: Max has DNF'd in the past 2 races has that been an advantage for you?
Y/N: Ermm... I would say having one less competitor on the track makes it a little easier
Gunther: The standings are currently you, Lewis then Charles, which is quite different to the past years. Do you have your eyes on the championship?
Y/N: At the moment no. I'm just focusing on maintaining progress and ensuring the team is in a good position.
Gunther: Lastly, you are only 7 points ahead of Mercedes so does this close gap worry you?
Y/N: No, we aren't in direct competition, we just want to improve the car, improve the standings and ensure we make progress.
Still on a high from talking to THE Gunther Steiner I head over to the podium to prepare to celebrate, when my engineer hands me a note, I open it:
"I know you are mad at me, and I'm sorry, I wanted to say well done for today, I'm really proud of you - Max"
I smile knowing that I have won, and that he is proud of me I step up to the podium and stand on the centre piece which is first place and feel that feeling of ecstasy of winning that was almost foreign come flooding back and as it does so I look down and see a smiling Max, getting a sense of Deja vu from Australia.
Driver standings:
Constructors Standings: