the money shot (max verstappen )

bahrain gp

lewis stood proud on the highest step of the podium, as he drowned himself in bubbles. his first win of the season, at the first race non the less.
lila clicked her camera as fast as she could,
hoping she could get the perfect shot.

stood on the third step of the podium was bottas who's smile felt less genuine.
undoubtedly he was proud to be up there but some part of him had to resent the attention his teammate garnered every race.

on the second step stood max.
it had been a tight race, won by fractions of a second, and the crowd below was ecstatic to see how competitive max and the red bull car would be this year.
he lent over the edge spraying the crowd below with the sticky alcohol, fuelled by their cheers, unable to contain his boyish laughter.

she knew this was the content the fans wanted.
maxs laugh captured his fans more than any other photos of him.

max carried on laughing and pouring the champagne relishing in the crowd's cheers.
he lent his head back, bringing the almost empty bottle to his lips and smiling as the last drops drained into his mouth.
he sure knew how to celebrate.
the bottle emptied and he parted it from his lips, leaning forward again to face the crowd and, much to lila's delight, his eyes fell straight down the centre of her leans.

it was the perfect shot.
she couldn't believe her luck.

he quickly looked away again, and lila removed her eye away from the viewfinder, a smile nearly as large as maxs plastered across her face.

he looked back to her again.
this time instead of down the lens, he looked directly at her.
she turned pink and, not knowing what do to, awkwardly shook her camera at him, as if to thank him for the shot in some way.

max winked in what lila thought was a slightly dismissive way, and quickly averted his gaze, turning his attention back to the roaring cheers below.

lila replayed their strange interaction ( if you could even call it an interaction ) over and over as she walked away from the podium, kicking herself for being so awkward.

"hey... you. uhh with the camera," a man in a red bull outfit came up from behind lila, out of breath from trying to catch up with her.
she recognised him from the podium presentation, he had been standing near her, just outside of the photographers pit.

"I saw that shot u got, of max. we wanna get our hands on it before u sell it to someone else," he stood awkwardly still trying to catch his breath.

lila didn't make much from most photos, usually selling them to people where they'd end up in random articles. getting payed by a team was a dream and meant u were really able to get your name out there as a photographer.

"just come back to the paddock for a moment. it won't take too much of ur time I swear."

lila agreed eagerly and followed him as he led her to the red bull temporary set up. as they approached, they could hear cheering and clamouring coming from within. the man, who on their walk lila had come to know as mark, opened the door and inside was max surrounded by a hoard of the redbull team congratulating him on his race. he was still in his racing suit from the podium, though he had undone it halfway so it hung down below his hips. his hair was messy and soaked in champagne and he was still smiling showcasing his infamous dimples. she couldn't ignore how good he looked.

mark pulled christian horner away from the congratulating crowd and toward lila,
"that photo I was telling u about boss, here's the girl whos taken it."

christian gave her the once over and said, as if in approval of his brief judgement of character,
"alright let's see this famous photo then."

"it's really nothing too special, just got a lucky shot really," lila said attempting to lower his expectations.
she found the photo and handed the camera over.

christian took his time studying the photo, squinting down at the screen. lila briefly wondered whether he might need glasses. thought, christian was the type of man to refuse to wear glasses, even if he was prescribed them.

"it's a bloody good photo i'll tell you that much. how's this, i'll give u the email of our pr people and they'll negotiate the payment and whatnot," he continued as he began flicking through the other photos she had taken that day.

"actually u know what, we might have a space on the team opening up, why don't u send them a portfolio of sorts, with all this stuff and whatever else i've got that u think will impress them," christian said the sentence nonchalantly, as if it hadn't been the very words lola had been dreaming of hearing since she started her photography in f1.

she couldn't have imagined she would ever get an offer to work for a team. it would mean a steady income, the chance to travel with the team, it would be all she could hope for.

"that would mean the world i'll send it all through. thank you so much christian," she stuttered reaching to take her camera back.

"hey max, you seen these photos. girls a genius if she can make you of all people look good," christian called across the room.
max came bounding over, taking the camera from christian's hands.

"what is this," his said waving his hands about above the camera,
"she didn't even get my good side."
he laughed clearly proud of his joke and began flicking through the photos.
lila's stomach churned with butterflies, half thinking she was dreaming.
max continued looking through until he reached the photos of hamilton and stopped short.

"taking photos for the enemy, you gotta fire her right now man," though max was no longer the young kid he was when he started F1, he still had that same childish grin.

"well i'm not even hired yet," lila retorted, hoping she hadn't overstepped. and taking the camera back from max.
to her relief christian chuckled at her remark and gave her a reassuring pat on the back, steering her towards the door.

"well, I hope to see you round soon kid," christian smiled at her as mark showed her out the door.

when lila finally got back to her car, she sat for minutes in silence, hardly able to process all the events of the day and once home, spent hours deliberating on which photos to include in her portfolio.

unable to afford the travelling costs, lila usually only photographed the races she could reach by train, restricting her to the races in europe. this year, for their anniversary, lila's boyfriend josh had surprised her with a trip to bahrain. he intentionally booked the trip so that she could photograph the opening race of the season.

josh's family came from wealth, so she was  already half expected for his gift to be rather over the top. however she was caught off guard by how thoughtful it had been. not just an expensive trip, but one that he knew would mean the world to her.

lila still loved with her parents, which she claimed was still acceptable as a 22 year old. though she had practically moved in with josh at this point, rarely spending a night apart.
lila had two older brothers, both of whom had already moved out. maybe it was her loyalty to her parents that kept her from officially moving out. or maybe she was too scared to be fully reliant on josh.

the next three days we're torture, waiting for red bulls reply. then finally, the Wednesday after the first race she saw it.

from: redbull racing
re. : position as redbull photographer