Horner's daughter

A big step.

It was now the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi, on the Black Sea.

Max finished third in FP1 and sixth in FP2 with FP3 being cancelled due to heavy rain. He chose not to complete a lap in qualifying and took a new (and fourth) power unit meaning he was resigned to starting 20th on the grid as he'd received a three place grid penalty for Monza but also a penalty for the new part. He completed two installation laps but didn't set a time so he was knocked out of Q1. The team had decided it was safer to preserve the car for the long stint on race day as Max battled through the grid.

Qualifying had been surprising for his fellow drivers though with Lando Norris snatching pole away from Carlos Sainz with the Spaniard losing his first pole to his former teammate (who'd also never been on pole before). George Russell qualified in third with the Brit squeezing all the seconds he could out of his Williams.

It was race day. Max knew his race would be far from easy. Whilst he was at the back, he would be battling with other strong drivers as Bottas had received a 15 place grid penalty for exceeding the amount of power units he was allowed, something he suspected that Mercedes had done on purpose so that Bottas could hold him up. Charles Leclerc would also start from the back in the Ferrari for the same reason so he would have to be careful.

Lewis had dropped down to third on the opening few laps and Max had gotten past both Haases, Latifi, Giovinazzi and Yuki Tsunoda. On lap six, Max went down the inside of Valtteri, getting past the Finn with relative ease. He knew this was integral to the race and to the championship. Then on lap 10 Max tried an ambitious move and whilst he was forced to back out, he did get passed Charles Leclerc and was in 12th.

By lap 23, Max was in 5th and had set the fastest lap having fought his way through the grid valiantly. He pitted at the same time as Lewis on lap 27 and he would go onto the medium tyre. His pit was slightly slower but he would do the best he could to regain that time.

By the closing stages of the race, rain was appearing and it was increasing more and more as they went round the track. There was a big decision to make. Did they risk intermediate tyres or did they carry on?

Red Bull told Max to pit for the intermediate tyres and as the rain increased they played into his hands as he battled through the field.

He'd been hearing that Lando had been having an amazing race, battling Carlos Sainz at the start and now battling Hamilton for the lead. Hearing that had made him happy for his friend but he soon heard reports that Lando had spun because he hadn't wanted to change to intermediate tyres and now Lewis was leading the Grand Prix.

Max felt sympathy for his friend, losing the Grand Prix so late on. Selfishly though, he knew he could try and get P2. He soldiered on and as the chequered flag appeared in the distance, he knew he'd secured it. He'd been unable to snatch the win from Lewis and as such the Brit was leading the championship by two points and had achieved 100 wins in Formula 1, an amazing feat. Max was disappointed not to get the win of course but he was proud of what he'd managed to achieve, getting second when he'd started 20th was amazing. He stood on the podium, feeling pleased and knowing that there was a blank slate in Turkey which he could try and regain the lead back in.

He left the podium and returned to his driver's room as normal, knowing in all likelihood that Y/N would meet him in there shortly.

He was proven right when she stepped into the room a few moments later, beaming. Before he could even say anything, she'd ran towards him and kissed him, pouring her pride and love into it. She pulled away, unable to stop beaming.

"P2!" She cheered "You were amazing. I couldn't believe it! You got from P20 to P2! I'm so proud of you. Ik hou van jou."

"Ik ook hou van jou schatje." He paused looking at her intently for a minute or two before saying "Je bent mooi."