The Teammate

22 - Promises & Trouble

August 2023 – Dutch Grand Prix 

Christian Horner was a pretty easy-going guy. As long as Max Verstappen was ahead in the driver's championship and the team was leading in the constructor's race. Which pretty much just meant that as long as everyone around him was performing their best, he was happy. Or in simpler terms, that all of his investments were paying off. He had no issue moving things around, as if everyone around him; drivers, engineers, even assistants, and the media team were pawns in his hunt for glory and fame.

In his never-ending game against Toto Wolff and Mercedes.

Which was why as Lando pulled up to the track, late to the entire weekend, he took a moment to take a deep breath and remind himself why he was late. That and make up his mind as to if it was worth it or not. Depending on the consequences that awaited him within the paddock.

Since it was the Dutch Grand Prix and Max's home race, everyone's eyes were on him. Hardly anyone noticed that Lando's name had been replaced with the reserve drivers for free practice one and two, even if reserve drivers in Red Bull weren't as common as in other teams. When their paths finally crossed, after Lando had been trying his best to avoid the team principal before he could get in the car and make up for his tardiness with his driving, he realized that even Christian had hardly noticed Lando's absence. His only comment was that his times needed to improve if he was to take his spot on the front row.

Behind Max Verstappen of course.

No matter how badly Lando wanted a win, and wanted the driver's title as much as any other driver on the grid, he would always have to hold himself back. Focusing on defending his teammate instead of winning.

To everyone's disappointment, Red Bull did not have a lock on the front row. Max qualified second, behind Carlos Sainz which left Lando on the second row, behind his teammate in third. Christian Horner brushed off the minor loss as a fluke within the Ferrari team, and since Leclerc's teammate had only managed ninth, the chances of Carlos winning were minuscule.

However, Lando was still mentioned in the debrief about how he could have done better. Fought harder to earn a spot on that front row. Nothing was mentioned about Max, about how he could have worked harder to get in front of the Ferrari. Even if the data was obviously showing that even Lando's line had been faster in places than Max's.

No, there was never anything but praise for the golden boy.

With all the attention on Max, few noticed Lando breeze through his debrief and meetings with his strategies and engineers. Those that did, either didn't care or knew that whatever it was, it was important enough to take him away early. Christian Horner, thankfully, was not one of them.

However, Max was. He noticed and watched as his teammate all but bolted to his car and peeled out of the parking lot at a speed that if it had been anyone other than an F1 driver behind the wheel would have been extremely dangerous.

Lando arrived back at the hotel early enough that there weren't a lot of fans outside the gates hoping to catch a glimpse of the drivers, nor was a lot of the people inside scanning for their arrival either. For the most part, his steps went unnoticed as he made his way through the lobby and up towards his hotel room.

He usually didn't rush through public spaces hoping to be unseen. He normally loved speaking to his fans, allowing their screams to fuel his confidence. Remind him why he races, and who he truly races for. However, after the Dutch qualifying, he found the weight of being Max's teammate heavier than it normally was and all he wanted was to get into the seclusion of his hotel room. To hide from the constant expectations and prying eyes that tried to see into his life. It was a part of the job that he wasn't a fan of and a part that had only gotten worse when he moved to Red Bull. He always looked at it like it was just a negative aspect of the job that could never outweigh the positive. At least, he never thought it would.