Baby Blue.

Chapter 17: The shoey.

LANDO STARTS FROM P3!!! WHOO

Surprise chapter because our favourite Brit has done it again. And because Max starts from pole. And just why not?

Important information: This and the next chapter is the reason why this fic exists at all. I started working on the plot in July and I never thought it would be this big.

Thank you, as always, for all the interactions! Here's to a great race tomorrow <3

*Blasts Super Max*

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The Russian GP goes mediocre for my boys. Lando finishes 7th like last year because he gets a penalty - track limits, what else? Daniel, on the other hand, makes it back to 4th place, which means that McLaren scores some more points and narrows the gap to RedBull and Mercedes.

George Russell wins his second race of the season and narrows the points gap to the others. Haas also enjoys success: Mick Schumacher gets third place.

There is also an Alpine on the podium with Esteban Ocon taking his first podium of the season. I can't explain what it is, but Russia is still a lucky country for Mercedes, even though Hamilton finishes much further back this time. The one who draws the shortest straw in the race is Max Verstappen. He hits the wall after a puncture and the race is over for him after that.

I'm on the phone with Charlotte every two days to coordinate my work. She seems satisfied, although I am very grateful for Nathalie. We have distributed our tasks differently in the McLaren PR team, but at the moment everything seems to be working.

Right at the start of the Silly Season, Lando and Daniel are announced as drivers for another two years, although I imagine Lando will still be driving for McLaren longer than that. At least that is his own wish.

Daniel indicated in a conversation we had a few weeks ago that if he doesn't win a WDC in the next two years, he wants to quit. It was a depressing conversation in which I realised how much he deserves this title. So I was all the more pleased to see that he is still closely behind Max Verstappen, George Russell and Lando in the rankings before the race in Hungary. Daniel slipped behind Carlos in the meantime, but because Carlos had problems with the engine, he lost some points because he didn't finish the last race in the top ten.

Even though Ferrari is in a better position this year than last year, my best friend is frustrated by this situation.

"I came to Ferrari to win titles," Carlos rages, angrily banging the table in front of him. "And now I have to take another grid penalty because the engine has been updated?"

I cough. "As long as it works better afterwards."

We are sitting in a restaurant in one of the outer districts of Budapest. The race tomorrow will hopefully be better than last year. Painfully, I think back to the bowling stunt Valtteri Bottas did on the first lap.

"The problem is, I know everyone in the factory is working hard," Carlos notes.

"You too, Carlitos. Check your watch, I'm glad I was able to pull you out of the garage before midnight," I mutter and ask the waiter for the bill.

"Maybe I wanted to meet you this late to avoid the fans." He grins at me.

"Yeah, right, you're not that smart." I stick my tongue out at him.

"Hey!" He throws a napkin at me. "By the way, I can't believe Lando still hasn't figured out you're Miss Undercover."

Miss Undercover. That's what my brother calls Daniel's secret lover. So... Me.